


And I can't stop

by Significant_What



Series: soccer mom au [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Slice of Life, single parent nico, soccer coach will, soccer mom au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 03:20:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 33,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9800555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Significant_What/pseuds/Significant_What
Summary: Nico knows he shouldn't be staring like that. He knows it's weird and creepy and totally inappropriate. He knows the lady to his left has probably noticed, or will in the next few minutes if he doesn't stop. But then the coach turns again and Nico gets a better view of his back and the curve of his ass, and no, he's not going to stop just yet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All I originally had was the first line of the fic, and that's how it all started. I know there are a lot of inaccuracies, but I will also address some of them later on in the story.

Nico has a thing for his daughter’s soccer coach.

It’s stupid, really. He’s seen the guy less than five times, probably (nine, not that Nico’s counting), and most of the times he’s been too far to see properly. But even from his spot from the bleachers Nico can make the lean form of Coach Will (as the coach has the girls calling him), the board shoulders and bright smile and that stupid mob of beautiful golden hair that Nico just really wants to run his fingers through.

Nico knows he shouldn’t be staring like that. He knows it’s weird and creepy and totally inappropriate. He knows the lady to his left has probably noticed, or will in the next few minutes if he doesn’t stop. But then the coach turns again and Nico gets a better view of his back and the curve of his ass, and no, he’s not going to stop just yet.

”Which one’s yours?” the lady asks kindly, and Nico spares her a quick look. She has curly blond hair that she has tied on a pony tail, and he’s fairly certain he recognizes her from previous weekends.

Nico turns his eyes back on the field an points out Ciara. ”There. Number thirteen”, he says and doesn’t bother concealing his pride as he sees her taking the ball from another girl and making her way to score. Nico doesn’t know a thing about soccer if he’s being perfectly honest, but he knows enough to know that Ciara is doing well.

From the corner of his eye Nico sees the lady nod. ”She’s got good leg work”, she mutters, maybe more to herself than to Nico. ”I’m afraid mine has just a little too much energy to focus”, she points out a black haired girl that’s mostly jumping up and down and running aimlessly around other players. ”We thought soccer might help her channel her energy, but she seems to be even more vivid after practice. Takes after her father, I guess.”

Nico smiles pleasantly as Ciara manages a goal and his eyes wander off to the coach again. Ciara high fives the coach and then turns around to give Nico a thumbs up. Nico returns it and slowly registers that the coach, too, has turned to look at him. Or maybe not him, but the parents in general. Could be even watching the traffic behind them for all Nico knows. But that bright smile is there again and Nico has to look away before he does something stupid like blush like an idiot. No one is supposed to smile like that while coaching a bunch of seven year olds.

After the practice all the girls run to their parents, and Nico is only slightly mortified as he notices he’s the only dad there. It shouldn’t bother him, he’s often the only dad, and always the only parent and only family Ciara has. Has been for seven years now. But yes, sometimes it still bothers him, and on this particular Saturday afternoon he really has to work on his smile before Ciara reaches him.

”Did you see that last goal, Dad?” she asks him, excited and full of life and looking so much like Bianca that it almost hurts. Almost. ”It was a tough one, I almost got tackled, but I feinted and then I ran like the wind just like Uncle Jason has told me to!”

”Yes, I saw”, Nico smiles as he gives her a jacket, even though he isn’t certain if he had been paying more attention to Coach Will or Ciara back there. He really needs to get a grip. ”And Jason will be really proud of you when you tell him. Did I tell you we have dinner with the Graces tomorrow?”

Judging by her surprised reaction he hasn’t told her, and that’s basically all the girl talks about on their short walk home. Ciara loves Jason and Piper and their two year old son, and Nico has a feeling she really likes it when Piper does all that mother-daughter-stuff with her. Nico tries his best to give Ciara everything she needs, but he has long since accepted that he can’t be a mother to her. Not really, no matter how hard he tries. But he sure will be the best damn father she could get.

”Oh, and Dad?” Ciara says as an afterthought once they have reached the door to their apartment and Nico looks for his keys. ”Coach Will asked me to tell you that it’s nice to see a dad on the bleachers for once.”

Nico almost drops the keys but makes it look like he’s doing it on purpose. He makes it a point to not look at his daughter right then. ”Did he now?”

”Yeah, and then I told him that I only have a dad, and then Sophie said she only has a mom, and Hannah heard and said that she has _two_ moms, which I thought was kind of cool, and then Coach said it’s good for us to see that even if we have different kinds of families we can still play the same sports, and I don’t really understand what that had to do with anything so…”

Ciara keeps talking, but as Nico opens the door and they proceed on their after-practice schedule, he can’t really listen. He hates to admit it, but the fact that Coach Will has (although indirectly) talked to him makes his insides all mushy in a way nothing has in years.

* * *

It takes three glasses of ridiculously expensive wine for Nico to tell Jason about his stupid obsession. He’s really grateful for Piper for offering to teach Ciara how to braid her hair by herself so that he can have a chat with his best friend – even if it means volunteering to do the dishes.

”And it’s just all fucking stupid”, Nico mutters, still a little afraid Ciara would hear him from the living room as he dries the plates. ”I mean, I haven’t ever even talked to him. I only see him on the soccer field. For all I know, he’s probably married. He coaches seven year olds. He could have his own kid on the team. Isn’t that what people do?”

”Yeah, or he could be really into you”, Jason rolls his eyes. ”Seriously, Nico, we’ve talked about this. You always assume the worst. That’s why you’ve been single for – ” He pauses and looks thoughtful. ”Hold on, how long _have_ you been single for, exactly?”

Nico resists the urge to throw the towel at him. ”As in real relationships or flings?” he asks anyway, and grimaces as he realizes how long it’s been. ”Either way, years.” Nico blames the wine, because had he been completely sober he would _never_ have admitted that to Jason.

Jason stops what he’s doing and turns to look at Nico. ”Wait, are you telling me you haven’t had _anyone_ since Ciara was born?”

Giving him a nasty glare, Nico puts the plates in the cupboard. ”Of course I have. Two or three. But that was still years ago.”

”How many years?”

”I’m _not_ discussing my sex life with you, Jason.”

”Yes, you are. How many years has it been, Nico?” Jason looks like he’s getting both angry and worried, and Nico would give anything to not be in this situation right now. ”And don’t even think about lying to me, I’ll know.”

Nico listens to the sound of Ciara’s happy giggle coming from the living room, hears the childish babble of little Tom and Piper’s laughter. He counts. ”Five years.”

Jason almost drops the pan he’s washing. ” _Five years_?” His voice is full of disbelief, and Nico just really wants to slam the pan to his face. It’s a miracle they can both keep their voices low enough to keep the kids from hearing their conversation. ”You haven’t had sex in _five years_?”

”Shut _up_ , Jason!”

But Jason lets out a huff, and Nico knows his wondering what it would feel like to not have sex for five years. _Not good_ , Nico thinks bitterly and keeps his eyes on the dishes. ”Seriously, di Angelo, that’s messed up. We gotta get you laid. Soon. I don’t even care if it’s from that coach or someone else, you _need_ to get some.”

”No, Jason, I don’t”, Nico growls, even though the idea isn’t all that bad. ”I’m fine. Besides, it’s not like I have time for that – I have Ciara, and my job, and I can’t just go randomly hitting on guys – ”

”Why not? It’s what everyone else does.” Before Nico can argue, Jason has already made the decision for him – like always. ”Tell you what. Next Friday we’re going out. Vodka and tequila and dancing, the works. There’s a new club on Sixth Street. We’ll go there; you, me, and Leo.”

”No.” Nico knows it’s pointless to argue, but he has to try. It’s bad enough he has admitted all this to Jason – it will be worse if Leo finds out. ”No, you’re not bringing Valdez into this. No way.”

”Of course I am. Leo’s the best wingman you can get”, Jason finishes with the dishes and turns off the tab. ”Seriously, Nico, you need this. Don’t argue. I’m only looking out for you.”

”By throwing me into some stranger’s bed? How very kind of you.”

”You’ll thank me.”

Nico has a feeling he won’t.

* * *

Nico may have a thing for his daughter’s soccer coach, but if the man doesn’t stop using the god damned whistle Nico is going to kill him.

Piper had offered to take Ciara to practice today, and right now Nico is thinking that might have been a better idea. But he’s there, and it’s too late. He swears he’s never been that hungover before (he has, but it’s been so long he has mostly forgotten), and it’s all Jason’s fault. And Leo’s. Fuck, Nico is never _ever_ going to drink tequila with Leo Valdez again.

The whistle splits the air again, and Nico flinches involuntarily and adjusts his sunglasses. He knows he looks terrible, and he can practically _hear_ the soccer moms giving him scornful looks. (”You do realize you’re basically a soccer mom yourself?” Leo’s voice from last night taunts him, and he wants to hit something.) He’s been the odd one out since the season started, being the only dad and also at least six years younger than the rest of them, but showing up hungover to the practice was a low blow even for him. Nico scowls and takes another sip of his coffee. He really should have let Piper take Ciara.

”Long night?”

Nico looks up and sees the lady who had talked to him the week before. He grunts an answer, knowing he’s being rude but not really wanting to engage in conversation that will probably just end in her telling him he’s a terrible father. It has happened before, Nico doesn’t need a recap.

But the lady sits down next to him anyway, inviting herself to his personal space, and Nico wants to tell her to fuck off. He doesn’t.

”I don’t blame you, if that’s what you’re thinking”, she says after a moment, and when Nico glances at her she’s looking thoughtfully out to the field. ”God knows that I’d like a night off every now and then. We’re only human, right? Even if we’re parents, too.”

Nico has been waiting for the patronizing and her telling him what to do with his life. So he’s really surprised by her words, even if he’s still weary of her motive. He looks at her profile, notices the proud stance and the way she keeps her chin up more than she actually needs to. Her hair is on a pony tail again, and Nico now notices that even if she’s dressed in jeans and a button-up like the rest of the moms, she holds herself very differently from them.

”Why don’t you?” Nico hears himself asking before he can stop himself. She turns to look at him. ”Take a night off, I mean. Why don’t you?”

She smiles a little at him; not the ridiculous, rehearsed smile the other moms sport throughout practice, but a real, genuine smile. Nico feels like this lady doesn’t smile for appearance’s sake. ”It’s hard to find time between running my own company and taking care of two over-stimulated kids. And between you and me”, she leans in a bit closer, and normally Nico would have backed off but he’s too nauseated to move, ”alcohol wouldn’t be the best idea with a third one on the way.”

”Oh.” Nico’s eyes dip momentarily down to her abdomen, but her stomach is still flat. She’s probably not further than three months yet. ”Congratulations.”

”Thanks”, she smiles brightly like only a pregnant woman can. Then she offers her hand. ”I’m Annabeth, by the way.”

Nico shakes her hand. He wonders why he’s even bothering – it’s not like he’s there to make friends. ”Nico.” But, he thinks as he turns his eyes back on the field just in time to see Ciara get tackled (rather sloppily), it won’t hurt to have someone to talk to during the weekly practice.

”Pleasure. And if it makes you feel any better, you’re not the only one who feels like throwing up.”

They fall into a comfortable silence and watch their kids play. Or, Nico thinks, at least Annabeth is probably watching the kids; Nico soon finds himself looking at Coach Will again. The man looks ridiculously good in shorts and a bright orange t-shirt. It’s a warm day, and even from the distance it’s obvious the coach is sweating like a pig, and the shirt is sticking to his back like a second skin. And Nico can’t get his eyes off him.

Suddenly all Nico can think of is the way he was panting in the bathroom stall last night, but instead of a complete stranger it’s Will between his legs, smirking and licking and doing all sorts of unholy things to him. Nico feels his face heat up, and he has to get up and mutter some excuse about not feeling well to Annabeth before he can hide himself behind the bleachers. He can’t remember any specific details of his partner from the previous night, but he sees Will there so vividly, and it’s so _real_ Nico knows that if he doesn’t stop _right now_ he’s going to have a problem. A problem you do _not_ want to have at a little league soccer practice.

 _Car crashes_ , Nico forces himself to think. He takes deep breaths and feels his stomach turning, the hangover making him feel even worse than he already is. _Baby lions_. _The Declaration of Independence_. He drops his coffee on the ground, and his sneakers are ruined. Serves him right. _What the fuck is the capital of Arizona?_

Nico gets his shit together just in time before the final whistle. He tells Ciara a little white lie about how they need to get going right away, and waves a small good-bye to Annabeth, who’s giving him a concerned look. He taps his forehead to signal her that it’s just the hangover, and she seems satisfied by that. Nico takes Ciara’s bag and flings it over his shoulder, grabbing her hand and guiding her towards home before he can make a bigger fool of himself.

* * *

Nico is almost certain that Ciara’s wrist is broken. She says it’s just a sprain, like she’s a medical professional, but Nico’s pretty much freaking out inside. Ciara hasn’t broken any bones before. Nico doesn’t know how to react with broken bones, and he considers calling Piper. He’s looking around at the emergency room, wondering why no one hasn’t called them in yet, and the smell of the hospital takes his mind back to the day Ciara was born.

The day that was both the worst and the best of his life.

”Dad, stop”, Ciara whispers, and Nico’s attention turns to her in a flash. ”You’re making me nervous.” Her wrist is covered with a bag of frozen peas and a t-shirt, and she’s holding it in her lap gently. Nico suddenly realizes he’s tapping his foot on the floor, and stops.

”Sorry.” He pets Ciara’s soft black hair away from her face. ”Does it hurt?”

Ciara smiles, and Nico knows she’s putting on a brave face. She always does, especially when he tells her not to. ”Not so much anymore.”

”Di Angelo?” a nurse calls just then, and Nico looks up to her. ”Doctor Solace will see you know.”

Nico and Ciara are taken to the examination room where the doctor waits, and as soon as Nico sees the doctor he knows he’s screwed. All it takes is that one look. Ciara is delighted, but Nico just wishes they could have had any other doctor.

”Coach Will!” Ciara exclaims, and Doctor Solace smiles pleasantly at her. Nico hates the way the smile makes him want to smile, too. ”I didn’t know you’re a doctor!”

”Well, I have to do something when you guys are at school, right?” Doctor Solace winks at her before turning to shake Nico’s hand. ”Mr. di Angelo. Pleasure to finally officially meet you, even if I wish it was under different circumstances.”

”Right back at you.” Nico prays to every higher being he knows that he makes it through the check-up without fucking things up. But the truth is that knowing Coach Will is also a doctor makes Nico’s head spin. (Nico keeps telling himself he does _not_ have a thing for doctors.)

”Now, what have you done to your wrist, young lady?”

Ciara has the nerve to look proud of her injury. ”I was practicing the feint you showed me last Saturday, Coach. And I was doing really well, too.”

Nico shakes his head at her. ”Yeah, except you were doing really well in the living room and not outside like I told you to.”

Nico hasn’t been to Ciara’s practice in two weeks. If someone asks, he has had work to do, he has been busy, and he truly regrets having to miss practice. But truthfully he’s just been avoiding the coach. That day after his night out with Jason and Leo… Nico’s never been more embarrassed in his life than he was hiding behind the bleachers, forcing away an erection.

But forgetting that thought about Will Solace hasn’t been easy. In fact, it has proven to be damn near impossible. How many times has Nico now woken up sweaty, calling his name? How many times has he touched himself in the shower imagining Will was there with him? Nico hates himself for even thinking about it, but Will Solace is now a constant figure in his mind. Nico hates himself almost as much as he hates Solace for even existing.

While Doctor Solace examines Ciara, Nico works hard to keep his eyes in his daughter. Turns out it really is just a sprain, and she happily spares him a look that clearly says ”told you so”. Nico just rolls his eyes in return. Doctor Solace seems to have a way with children, and his voice is very pleasant. He cracks a smile easily, Nico notices, and his laugh sounds like a hundred bells in summer wind. It’s all something Nico hasn’t noticed during practice. Solace also has a face full of freckles, and his eyes are bluer than anything Nico has ever seen, and Nico just really hopes Ciara will be treated quickly so that they can get out of there because he would really like to kiss her coach slash doctor.

”Well, looks like you’re good to go”, Doctor Solace finally says, and Nico almost lets out a sigh of relief. ”Keep the bandage on for a week, and if the pain gets worse give me a call. You have my number.” There’s that wink again, this time directed to Nico, and the dark haired man has to look away to keep himself from blushing. He has looked at the number on the soccer team time table for more times than he cares to admit. ”And I think a follow-up next week is also in order. Be sure to make an appointment with the nurse on your way out.”

”Will I be able to play on Saturday?” Ciara’s voice is worried, and Nico curses. She has her first real game coming up. He feels such a crappy father for forgetting.

Doctor Solace looks regretful. ”I’m afraid that as both your doctor and your coach I must advice against it.” Nico sees him glance at him quickly before continuing, ”But I do hope to see you both there. We can never have too many people cheering for us.”

”Oh! We’ll be there, won’t we, Dad?”

Nico swallows dry. It’s a lost case, because he couldn’t possibly deny his daughter like that while she is injured. And he hates how he wishes to see Coach Will in a sweaty shirt again.

”Yeah. Yeah, we will.”

* * *

By the time dinner is finished, Nico has made the decision to never talk to Jason ever again. Especially about his love life – or lack of it.

”Now there’s a plot twist”, Jason says and sends a meaningful look at Nico’s direction as Ciara finishes her story about the bandage on her wrist. She has made a big deal of showing it off, and Piper has even lent her some sparkly stickers to glue on it. ”Who would have guessed Coach Will is also a pediatrician?”

”You keep your mouth shut”, Nico hisses to him as Ciara turns her attention to Tom, who has just mastered eating with a spoon and is making a huge mess at the other end of the table. ”Don’t talk about him like that when she’s in the room, okay? This is horrible enough as it is.”

”Anything I can do? I mean – I don’t mean to brag, but my advice kind of did work last time.”

Nico looks at the water in his glass and wishes he could drown in it. ”No, it actually didn’t. If anything, it made things worse.”

Jason is silent for a long time, during witch he keeps staring at Nico in a way the younger man is very accustomed to during the many years they have known each other. Still, it is a very annoying surprise when Jason finally opens his mouth and says, ”Piper, dear, I think me and Nico can take care of the dishes again.”

Piper laughs a little and Nico hits his forehead on the table. ”You should come around daily. I had no idea you had such a passion for washing plates.”

”Believe me, neither did I.”

And that is how Nico finds himself once more in the kitchen of the Grace household, holding a towel like a weapon and trying to make Jason stop laughing. He doesn’t understand why the other man finds this so funny (okay, he does, but it doesn’t mean _he_ finds it funny at all). It takes five whole minutes and three smacks from the towel for Jason to calm down.

”You seriously got a boner in the soccer practice?”

”No – I _almost_ got a boner, but – oh for fuck’s sake, Jason, _this is not funny_!”

Jason wipes his eyes and grins as he looks at Nico. ”You have to admit, it’s a little funny. You’ll laugh about it one day.” He turns back to the sink and shakes his head. ”So – what? Now you just keep picturing it? You fantasize about Will Solace the soccer coach and pediatrician?”

”Shut up, Jason.” Nico glares at his so called friend, but neither confirms nor denies anything. ”I can’t believe we’re even discussing this.”

”Oh, but this is good, Nico. Real bro-bonding. We haven’t had that since…” Jason thinks for a while and grins. ”Since senior year of high school. Man, that’s a long time... Yeah, you didn’t want to talk about this stuff anymore because you were seeing that college guy. Athlete, if I remember correctly. What was his name? Mike?”

”Michael.”

”Right. _Michael_. A pre med, wasn’t he?” Nico doesn’t have to say anything, his blush does it for him. Jason starts laughing again. ”You know, I was only joking back then, when I said you had a thing for doctors. But apparently I was right.”

”Fuck off”, Nico mutters. He’s not even slightly tipsy this time, so he can’t blame alcohol for what he has told Jason. Why the fuck is he making such stupid things these days? ”You’re missing the point here. It’s not even about Solace being hot anymore. I think…” Nico stops and dries two plates before he continues. ”I know it’s fucking ridiculous, I haven’t even really talked to the guy more than two times, I think, but – ”

”Oh my god.” Jason has stopped to even pretend that he’s doing the dishes, and he’s turned to fully look at Nico. ”You have a crush on him, don’t you? An actual sixth-grade crush?”

”What? No! I – ” Nico tries to think of a better word for it. But what do you call it when you want to simultaneously kiss a person in the moonlight and fuck their brains out? ”It’s complicated, okay? Besides, he’s Ciara’s coach. And we’ve already discussed this, he’s probably straight and married anyway.”

Jason scoffs. ”Yeah, and I still think you shouldn’t place your verdict so quickly. You of all people should know that looks can be misleading. I mean, I wouldn’t have guessed _you_ to be gay in a million years if you hadn’t told me.”

”That’s because you’re a blind idiot, Grace.”

Jason keeps talking about how Nico shouldn’t just assume everyone to be straight, but Nico doesn’t listen. The real reason he stopped talking about these things with Jason wasn’t Michael the pre med. He hadn’t even seen Michael for more than a few times. The truth is that he hadn’t talked about his sex life with Jason since Ciara came to the picture. It was all so unexpected, and he was a huge mess back then, and there was just no proper time to even think about having sex with someone when you were planning your sister’s funeral while changing diapers.

Nico is sure Jason knows that. Hell, it was Jason who kept him sane during the first year. And Nico is actually really grateful for Jason _not_ bringing up Bianca as much as he did before, because all it does is make Nico sad and Ciara confused.

After the dishes are done, Nico walks to the living room to inform his daughter that it’s time to go. Ciara is a kind and obedient child, but none of that applies when they’re having dinner with the Graces, apparently, and so she pouts and huffs and stomps all the way down the hall. 

”Can’t we stay the night? Just this once”, she tries. Nico sees that she’s tired out of her wits, but doesn’t say anything. ”I want to make blanket forts with Uncle Jason. He promised we’d do blanket forts." 

”Next time, kiddo”, Jason says as Nico glares at him. ”Pinky promise.”

Ciara wrinkles her nose, but links her pinky with Jason’s briefly. Then she turns back to her shoes (”I can tie my shoe laces now, Dad, you don’t have to help me”) and mutters, ”Uncle Leo would have let me stay.”

”Then I guess it’s once again a really good thing Leo Valdez isn’t your father”, Nico replies and shudders at the thought. True, he will never be sure about who Ciara’s biological father is, but he’s 110 per cent sure it is _not_ Leo Valdez. ”Come on, champ. Let’s get you home before you fall asleep on the floor, yeah? I’ll give you a piggy back ride home.”

Nico knows he spoils his daughter. He knows she has him wrapped around her little finger from the moment she was born. But he also knows he would not have it any other way.

* * *

”I think he’s bisexual.”

Nico almost falls off his seat when Annabeth sits next to him with such a greeting, one hand on her now slightly more visible baby bump. Yes, he has been looking at Will Solace again, but the coach is far across the field so it would be impossible to tell.

”W-what?” he splutters, holding his take away coffee cup more tightly to keep his hands from shaking. ”Who are you talking about?”

Annabeth rolls her eyes, but there’s a smirk on her lips that Nico quickly learns to hate. ”Don’t act stupid, Nico, I know you’re clever. I’m talking about Will. I think he’s bisexual.”

Nico considers for a moment before replying. He could be a jerk and ask what it’s got to do with him, but he thinks he would be mocking her intelligence if he did. She’s smart, Nico has learned that much, and there’s no way she hasn’t picked up on his pining after the coach.

It’s been six weeks since Nico and Ciara saw Will Solace at the hospital, and since then Nico has built a sort of relationship with the man. Well, it’s not actually a _relationship_. They’re acquainted now, and they say hello, and they do small talk after practice like normal parents do with their kid’s soccer coach. Nico has run into him twice in the supermarket, and made a point to do small talk even there. Which is weird, since Nico hates small talk and avoids it with everyone else.

Nico has mostly gotten rid of his horny teenager –state when it comes to the coach (mostly, but not entirely), but that doesn’t mean his heart doesn’t flutter every time Will smiles. Or that he doesn’t enjoy looking at the man on the field. Or that he doesn’t dream about how it would feel to run his fingers through that hair. (Or have the coach panting on a bed. You know, for science.)

”And what makes you think that?” Nico asks Annabeth, keeping his eyes on the field and noticing that Ciara has really made progress with her shuttle. He’s proud of himself for learning to notice little things like that.

”I went to high school with him. I was a senior when he was freshman, of course, but I remember him. He was dating the captain of the girls’ volley ball team back then, but for the past two months you’re the only one he’s had eyes for, no matter how much mascara the suburb moms apply.” 

It takes Nico a ten seconds to fully register what Annabeth is saying, and when he does, he turns to look at her with eyes the size of plates. She can’t be serious. Sure, Nico has been staring at Will ever since the season started, but there’s no way Will has been… that Will ever would… Nico feels his face burn red, and that annoying smirk on her lips just gets wider.

”Well, to be fair, they do look ridiculous with that much make up”, Nico tries and clears his throat when he hears how high his voice has turned. ”Not that I’d know much about that, obviously. Or care.” He’s pretty sure Annabeth is smart enough to have noticed him being gay ages ago, so there’s no need to even pretend with her.

Annabeth shrugs and glances at the other moms, sitting a few rows in front of them and evidently gossiping – something Nico has never understood. ”I bet most of them have ruined whatever brain cells they had with too much hair products. And the rest are just unhappy with their marriages. I know for a fact that Drew’s husband has filed divorce papers.” Nico nods, but doesn’t say anything. He has no idea which one of the moms is Drew, nor does he care to find out. ”But the real question is what _you_ are going to do about this?”

Nico pales. ”Me?”

Annabeth sighs and starts to sound annoyed. Something tells Nico he doesn’t want to see her get actually mad. ” _Yes_ , you. Nico, I’d have to be blind to not see how attracted you are to Will. I’ve been sitting right here for the past how many weeks and watched you undress him with your eyes – _don’t_ deny it”, she adds when Nico opens his mouth to speak, and he snaps it back closed. He’s lucky Annabeth keeps her voice down so the others don’t hear. ”It’s really getting frustrating. You’re driving me nuts, and you need to do something.”

Nico huffs. She makes it all sound so simple. It’s easy for her to say – she has her husband and her kids and her apple pie life, and she has never had anyone tell her she can’t be interested in someone because they’re the wrong gender. ”And what do you suggest I do, then?”

”Ask him out. Or respond to his flirting, at least. He’s terrible at that, I know, but just let him know you’re into him, okay?” She sighs again and rolls her eyes. ”If not for me, or for yourself, then do it just to shut those women up. They need to get a grip.”

Nico glares at her and resists the urge to throw his coffee at an exceptionally loud mom. ”He’s not flirting with me.”

”Sure he is. Gosh, I thought you might be dense, but I didn’t think you were blind, too.”

Nico doesn’t say anything anymore, and neither does Annabeth. They sit in silence for the rest of the practice, and when the kids start walking to their parents he doesn’t say anything as he stands up and walks to meet Ciara half way. She’s out of breath and sweaty, and she complains her legs hurt so much he has to carry her home, and he just laughs and rolls his eyes.

”You did good today”, he tells her and hands her a bottle of water. He’s told her a hundred times to remember to drink during practice, but she never does. ”Nice work with tackling number six.”

”Yeah?” she grins, and Nico finds it was worth paying attention to see her smile like that. ”Isla’s good, but she doesn’t focus. It was petty easy. I hope she didn’t mind, though.” Her eyes search worriedly the crowd until they find the target. ”Dad, can I run real quick to ask her if she’s okay? It won’t take long.”

”Sure.”

Nico watches her go, and soon recognizes Number Six as Annabeth’s daughter, the one that takes after her father, apparently. Annabeth nods at him and winks, and Nico raises his hand as a way of both greeting and good-bye before he hears someone walk to him behind him. His breath catches in his throat.

”Nice to see you again, Mr. di Angelo.”

Will Solace is gorgeous, Nico decides as he turns around. The coach looks stunning even in the team orange, the sunlight making his golden hair glow and the freckles on his cheeks stand out. There’s a drop of sweat running down his temple, down the side of his face, down to his neck, and Nico has to stop right there before he thinks of anything inappropriate. Again.

”Please, call me Nico”, he says, his voice small like it always is, and he’s happy to notice it sounds more or less normal. ”Mr. di Angelo makes it sound like I’m thirty – which, I know realize, will be true in a couple of years. Oh my god.” Nico wants to bury his face in the sand like an ostrich. Maybe then he’d stop saying stupid shit. ”Not that I’m saying there’s something wrong about being thirty. No. I just – can’t I just stay, like, twenty-five for the rest of my life?”

The coach grins, and Nico doesn’t care about rambling anymore. For a split second he doesn’t care about anything, really. ”You’re twenty-five?”

”Twenty-six, but who keeps up after twenty-five, anyway.”

”True.” They just stand there, and they’re both staring, and Nico kind of sees where Annabeth draws her theories about mutual interest, but surely he’s mistaken. ”Twenty-six is still kind of young to have a seven year old child, don’t you think? No offence.”

”None taken”, Nico says. He doesn’t know why, but for the first time since Ciara was born he feels the need to explain things. But he never has before, so it’s hard. ”She’s not actually – I mean, it’s complicated. She’s my daughter, but she’s not mine. Biologically. It’s a really long story, to be honest.”

He knows it’s hard to believe, since Ciara looks so much like him. At least to other people – to him, Ciara is and always will be a splitting image of Bianca, and it kind of breaks his heart.

There’s a twinkle in Solace’s eye that Nico can’t really explain. He hears most of the soccer moms leaving with their kids, but doesn’t turn around, because Will Solace is looking at him and he can’t look away. He feels like it’s only a matter of seconds before this is considered to be awkward, but he still doesn’t look away, and neither does the coach.

”You know”, Will starts, and his voice isn’t quite as confident as it was before. The smile is still there, and so is the twinkle, but Nico sees his neck turning red and feels his own face heat up instantly. ”We should get coffee sometime. I mean, we could. You know, if you, maybe, want to tell me about it. The long story, I mean. Over coffee.”

And Nico knows his face is burning red like a tomato or Christmas apples, but he still can’t look away. He can feel his heart beating and hear the blood rush in his ears and he’s positive his hands are sweating, but none of that matters to him because _did Will Solace just ask me out on a date_? Is it a date? Or is it just two guys getting coffee? Or is it a coach having coffee with a parent, because Nico would actually _really_ hate that, but is it?

Nico is quiet for three seconds too long, he thinks, because the blush has now reached Will’s ears, too. ”Shit”, the blond mutters under his breath. He looks away and runs his fingers through his hair nervously, and Nico wants to slap his hand away because _I want to do that_. ”I just ruined this, didn’t I? You’re not actually – ”

”I am”, Nico says quickly – maybe a little too quickly, but he’s reached the point of not caring anymore. ”And we should. Get coffee, I mean. Are you free tomorrow?”

Will visibly relaxes and turns his eyes back to Nico, which the latter is really happy about (even if he probably looks embarrassing and his face could be mistaken for a red pepper). ”Yeah. Yeah, I am. Uh, three o’clock?”

”Sure. The coffee shop across the street?”

”It’s a date.” Then, when they both kind of freeze, Solace quickly continues, ”Or not. It doesn’t have to be. I mean, it’s cool either way – ”

And Nico doesn’t know where he gets the sudden burst of courage, but he lets out a laugh that doesn’t sound as nervous as he feels and says, ”It’s a date.”

Will smiles brightly at that, and Nico grins back. He doesn’t get to say anything more, because just then Ciara comes back and announces she wants ice cream, and also that nico has to carry her bag home, and could he pretty please give her a piggyback ride too? Nico doesn’t turn to look back as they walk, but he feels Will’s eyes on him and, for the first time since he saw the coach, Nico relishes the feeling and cant wait to see him again.

* * *

Fifteen minutes into the date Nico finds himself pinned against the bathroom wall in the small coffee shop with Will Solace breathing hot against his mouth.

They haven’t even got their coffee yet. Nico isn’t one hundred per cent sure who leaned in first, but from the second their lips touched it has been fireworks. And fire. And boiling steam, and earthquakes, and maybe one or two volcanoes exploding. And Nico doesn’t want to bother himself with things like who started what and how they managed to get to the bathroom, because Will’s lips are firm and hot against his and he’s _finally_ running his hands through that incredibly soft hair and he basically thinks he’s in heaven.

Will’s hands seem to be everywhere at once; on Nico’s sides, in his hair, against his chest, up his thighs. And Nico knows this can’t happen here, not in this bathroom and not like this, but he can’t stop or even think clearly as Will’s lips trail down his neck to suck on his shoulder. When Will’s leg presses between his thighs and creates delicious pressure, he lets out an embarrassing noise he will definitely try to deny later.

”Will”, he breaths as he grabs the golden hair tightly, and hates himself for what he’s about to say. ”Will, please, slow down. I – ” Will has stopped kissing his neck but keeps his lips there against the sensitive skin, and the hot breaths are driving Nico crazy. ”I want to do this right. And I hate myself for stopping you, I really do. But this…” Nico swallows and lets one of his hands run down Will’s muscled back. ”I don’t want it to be just a fling.”

It takes a few more deep breaths and a slowing heart rate before Will raises his face from Nico’s shoulder, and _oh for fuck’s sake_ Nico is all ready to keep doing what they just stopped doing just by seeing that face. But he keeps his breathing steady and his hands in appropriate places (hair and back, that’s appropriate in this situation, right?) when Will looks at him with eyes half closed.

”Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” Will is still breathless, and his voice is low, and Nico bites his cheek to not shiver. The blond pecks his lips softly and leans back. Nico immediately misses the body against his. ” _I_ want to do this right. Although I also kind of hate you for stopping me, too.” And as if that isn’t enough to make Nico’s pulse skyrocket again, Will winks at him before turning away to look in the mirror and adjust his clothes. ”The things I want to do to you, Nico… you’d probably be offended.”

 _Who is this man and where has he been all my life?_ Nico thinks as he growls and buries his face to his hands. ”Fuck, Solace. Stop saying stuff like that. I’m not the kind of guy you get to screw on the first date, but if you don’t _shut the fuck up_ – ”

”Don’t tempt me, Nico.” There’s a smirk in the voice, and when Nico peeks from between his fingers, he sees Will grinning at him. ”Come on. I promised you coffee, and I will get you coffee.”

After that the date goes like most first dates go. Well, mostly anyway. There’s coffee and smirks and lingering looks, and they talk about their interests and the ridiculous prices of pumpkin spice latte. Nico learns Will started coaching soccer back in college, and lets his eyes drop to the pink (and now slightly bruised) lips as the man talks. And when Nico tells Will about the record store he runs, it takes all his willpower to keep his voice steady as he feels Will’s foot against his calf.

But there isn’t any funny business, which Nico is both grateful for and really sad about. It’s all just borderline daring and an intense look every now and then. Nico really enjoys his date with Will, and Will is funny, and clever, and he cares a big deal about a lot of things. And before Nico knows it it’s almost six, and the coffee shop is closing and he has to be at the Graces’ in twenty minutes.

Nico stands outside on the sidewalk with Will for a long time, and they’re so close he can feel the other man’s body heat. They’re so close that when Nico looks up, their lips are only inches apart, and when he gets on his toes he can capture the other’s lips with his. And it’s nothing like in the bathroom. The fire is still there, burning low in the back of his head, urging him to deepen the kiss, but he keeps it slow and sweet, and Will’s hand comes up to cup his cheek, and it’s all kind of perfect. Nico still wants to take Will home and feel every inch of that tanned skin under his hands. Nico want’s to go a lot of things, but he walks away and smiles, because he feels Will’s eyes on him, and the lingering heat on his lips.

* * *

”You _fucked_ him in the _coffee shop bathroom_?”

”No, I _didn’t_. Jason, you need to shut up!”

As soon as Nico walked through the door to the Grace household, he told Jason he needs to talk to him. He doesn’t know when the whole _talking to Jason_ thing has become less like a pain in the ass and more like therapy, but right now he doesn’t care. Jason is the worst listener, though, and so while they sit on the counters in the kitchen behind closed doors, Nico has to constantly tell his friend to shut up. Nico has made Piper promise to keep the kids out of ear shot, but Jason is _loud_.

”I can’t shut up, Nico”, Jason says and looks like Christmas has come early to him, ”because you just _fucked a guy in a coffee shop bathroom_.”

”I said it was _close_ , not that it happened”, Nico glares at him and throws an oven mitt to his face. ”Pay attention. I’m starting to regret telling you a word.”

Jason quickly sobers up. ”Sorry. Please continue. You almost fucked but then for some unknown reason decided to _stop_ , like two _morons_. Seriously, Nico, that was your chance!”

”One more interruption and I cut you out entirely. I mean it, Grace.”

Nico gets to tell about the rest of the date in silence from Jason’s part, which is practically a miracle in itself. What makes Nico wonder, though, is the fact that when he’s done, Jason doesn’t start asking questions or laughing or making fun of him. Ever since Jason got married he has made it clear he is to continue living his life through Nico and Leo, and that includes a lot of details.

Nico starts to get worried when the blond man hasn’t said anything in two full minutes. Jason _never_ shuts up. Especially when it’s about someone else’s love life.

Just as Nico is ready to call for Piper to check on him, Jason finally opens his mouth. But his voice isn’t teasing or annoying like it normally is. ”You really like him, don’t you?” And when Nico doesn’t say anything, ”I mean, it’s pretty clear that you do.”

Nico rolls his eyes but can’t stop the blush from creeping on his cheeks. ”It’s been one date, Jason. I barely know him.”

”You know him well enough to want to fuck him in the bathroom.”

”Jason – ”

”I know, I know.” Jason looks at him, and his eyes are smiling, and Nico remembers how once upon a time in high school he thought he had feelings for Jason. The whole idea seems impossible now, most of the time, but he still likes Jason’s smile. ”But you and I both know that you don’t actually need to _know_ someone to like them. Look at me and Piper. I told you, first time I saw her, that I’m in love with her, and how long did it take for me to even learn her name?”

Nico remembers. He has been Jason’s friend since first day of high school, and Piper has been the only girl he has ever talked about. He smiles softly at the memory before he can stop himself. ”Two years.”

”Two years. Exactly.” Jason looks like he has made his point clear, but Nico still doesn’t get what he’s trying to say. ”I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. Did I know I was going to marry her? Of course not. I didn’t know her at all. I didn’t even know her name. And yet I _knew_ I liked her. You’re already one step ahead."

Jason’s never been good at inspirational speeches, so the fact that this time it didn’t go entirely to shit kind of impresses Nico enough to keep his mouth shut. But the cases are as different as night and day. They’re not in high school anymore. Nico has Ciara to think about. He can’t just bring a new person into the picture like that, without counting the risks.

Not that it’s like that. It has, after all, been only one date. Nico knows it’s a one in a million chance to find the right person after one date. He knows it’s crazy to even think that he and Will could possibly make it to the point where he has to take Ciara’s feelings into consideration. He knows he’s being stupid and that he’s over thinking everything, and that he really needs to stop thinking about Will Solace twenty-four seven, because it’s not going to make things any easier.

* * *

When Nico goes to bed that night, he thinks about Will Solace. But not like he has before – not naked, not gasping for air, not hovering over him and making his skin burn. Nico thinks about how it feels to run a hand through his hair, about the hand that cupped his face outside the coffee shop, the eyes that seem brighter than a clear blue afternoon sky. He thinks about the knot in his stomach when Will presses their lips together, and wonders briefly what it would be like to feel that every day. Nico thinks he could live with it, if it ever comes to that, and the thought scares him.

Just as he is about to drift off to sleep, Nico hears his phone beep, signaling a text. And he thinks about waiting until morning to read it, but opens his eyes anyway and reaches for the phone. He’s glad he does when he sees the sender.

_From: will: [22:53] i can’t stop thinking about kissing you_

And it’s stupid, and Nico kind of hates himself for grinning like a total idiot, but then again, who cares? Nico certainly doesn’t.

 _To: will: [22:55] i can relate_  
_To: will: [22:55] kind of makes me want to punch you_  
_To: will: [22:55] or kiss you  
_ _To: will: [22:56] haven’t really decided yet_

As Nico waits for Will to answer (and watches the tiny dots appear and disappear, like Will is uncertain what to type) he drops his head back on the pillow and sighs. At least he’s not the only one having trouble with this. He wonders if Will, too, was thinking about the possibility of kissing him everyday. Then he slaps his own face; he’s being an idiot, that doesn’t mean Will would be, too.

 _From: will: [22:57] really hoping for the latter. that way i won’t look like such an idiot kissing you after_  
_To: will: [22:58] never stop dreaming, sunshine_  
_From: will: [22:58] i won’t_  
_From: will: [23:02] you know  
_ _From: will: [23:02] you never told me the long story about ciara_

Nico had been avoiding the subject on purpose, but he doesn’t want to tell that to Will. If he’s being honest, he doesn’t really think the circumstances of Ciara’s birth are exactly first date material. Or second, or third, or maybe even fourth date material. It’s a really delicate matter that Nico hasn’t really told anyone. Ever.

_From: will: [23:05] sorry if i’m over stepping. none of my business_

But then again, Nico isn’t sure that pinning your date against the wall and sucking on their neck is exactly first date material, either.

 _To: will: [23:07] we could make it your business if you want_  
_From: will: [23:09] i’d like that_  
_From: will: [23:09] a lot_  
_To: will: [23:10] me too  
_ _From: will: [23:14] do you want to grab lunch tomorrow?_

* * *

They go out eight more times before it comes up again.

It has been almost two months since their first date now, and Nico won’t admit to anyone, but he has loved every second of it. Since then they have mostly met up in Will’s apartment, though, because let’s be real, they can’t keep their hands off each other long enough for it to be publicly appropriate. And Nico loves the way Will opens the door and pulls him into a kiss without even a hello, because they have time for that later. And he loves how they can spend the first half an hour by the door, tongues battling and hands groping like they’re teenagers, before they say a word to each other.

Nico has long since figured that Will is loaded like any doctor, but you couldn’t tell by the way the man was living. By the time of Nico’s third visit to the apartment (that was grand, of course, but wasn’t brought to justice with the mismatched furniture and the lack of decoration) the slightly younger man was sure that Will Solace didn’t even know how to cook. His assumptions were proved right when he promptly started going through the cupboards and cabinets.

”How do you survive, Solace?” he asked and looked at the other with real concern as he found nothing edible from the kitchen.

Will just shrugged and muttered something about take out and diners before enveloping Nico from behind and attaching the man’s neck with his lips and tongue and teeth.

And so Nico finds himself in Will’s apartment on what could be considered their tenth date (wondering if he should stop counting them now), cooking dinner and trying really hard not to show what Will’s stare is doing to him. He doesn’t trust Will with watching the sauce, so the blond is chopping tomatoes for the salad, but by the way his eyes linger on Nico, he isn’t focusing on the knife as much as he should be.

”Keep your eyes on that knife, mister”, Nico mutters, keeping his back turned so that Will can’t see his smirk. ”Wouldn’t want to end up to the emergency room with you today.”

A few minutes later Will is done with the tomatoes, and he’s reaching for the olive oil. But the thing is that Nico’s now trapped between Will and the counter, and he can feel Will’s hot breath on the nape of his neck, and Will’s hand is ghosting on his hip when the man whispers a low ”sorry, dear” against his skin, lips brushing and barely even touching but still making everything burn. And it’s only a second, but right after Will has turned back to the salad Nico takes out his phone and writes a few texts, his trembling hands making it hard to hit the right keys.

 _To: jay: [19:34] yeah so i’m taking you up on that offer_  
_To: jay: [19:34] ciara’s staying with you for the night_  
_To: jay: [19:34] shut up  
_ _To: jay: [19:35] i’ll text you later_

He puts the phone away and tries to ignore the way it quickly starts vibrating with incoming texts from Jason. He doesn’t need to read them to know what they’re saying, and he can reply later. If ever.

They sit down to eat, and Will doesn’t really have a dining table so they sit by the counter, so close to each other that their thighs and elbows touch. Their hands brush together when they reach for the pepper, and Nico thinks it’s stupid to feel so giddy because Will has been sucking his face less than an hour earlier, but still he smiles and lets his looks linger. Like Jason, Will has an expensive taste when it comes to wine, and they drown half the bottle without saying much.

After dinner they do the dishes together, and Nico can’t help but feel happy about how domestic it all is. He’s never been one with big dreams of family and apple pie life – he’s had Ciara, and they have been happy, and that has been enough. But when he hands the clean plates for Will to dry and their fingers brush and they smile, he starts wondering that maybe dreaming isn’t so overrated after all.

And those thoughts make Nico sort of nauseous. He doesn’t know what he’s doing half the time, and the other times he’s so fucking scared he could pass out. He wants to keep this up, what ever it is that he has going on with Will, but at the same time he’s scared of ruining it, ruining everything. And while he wants to take Will home and be with him every day, he’s so afraid of bringing a new person to Ciara’s life, someone who might not stay, that he feels his breath catch in his throat.

Nico thinks that he should have figured Will would notice the change in his mood. Maybe that’s why he isn’t surprised when Will’s firm hand takes his shaking one and leads him to sit on the couch in the living room.

”What is it, Nico?” Will’s voice is soft, and Nico cherishes the firm way he holds both his hands in his tanned ones. ”Did I say something? Did I _do_ something? Because I swear I’m never going to forgive myself if I fucked this up – ”

”It’s not you”, Nico whispers, and he realizes how much it sounds like a break up, and he rests his head on Will’s shoulder and squeezes the man’s hands. ”It’s – it’s Ciara, I guess. And me. And the fact that it’s always been just her and me and I’m scared as fuck.”

Will keeps quiet. Nico can feel the slight movement of his body as he breathes. It’s calming, and it fills the whole room. Nico knows that Will waits for him to speak, waits for him to explain something he should have explained a long time ago.

”My parents died when I was ten years old”, Nico starts slowly, keeping his eyes on their hands. He tries to choose his words carefully, but it’s hard to know what to say when you’re never had this conversation before. ”My sister, Bianca, had just turned eighteen, and she fought for custody, to become my legal guardian. She had always been a bit more than a sister to me, taking care of me when Mom and Dad were out of town… I sometimes thought of her as more of a mother than a sister. And so it was Bianca and me for years.”

Nico doesn’t have to see Will. He knows the man is curious as to what this all has to do with anything, but he has to start from the beginning to even try to make Will understand. It’s a long and complicated story, and it’s fucking sad, and Nico feels like he’s going to cry. He hasn’t talked about Bianca to anyone for so long he has forgotten how much it hurts.

”She got pregnant when I was nineteen. She never told me about the baby’s father, just said that it was none of his business and he would never have any say in the child’s life.” Nico’s mouth is dry. He feels the unfamiliar burn behind his eyes, he tries to clear his throat and continue the story like it doesn’t make him want to kill himself.

”But Bianca had always been sickly and sort of weak of health, and she was taken down my an infection a month before her due date. There was nothing to be done. I had to watch her… had to see her like that and just know…” Nico swallows and takes a shaky breath. ”It was the worst three days of my life. As her last request, Bianca made me swear to take care of Ciara, to raise her as my own. I would have done that anyway, but she made me promise. And when she died, I was left with a newborn girl, and I didn’t know anything about being a parent and I had just lost my sister, my only family… and I already had a new one to look after.”

Will’s thumbs are making small patterns on the skin at the back of Nico’s hands. A part of Nico wants to bury his face in Will’s shoulder and cry, but he hasn’t cried in so long, and he doesn’t want to start all over again. In a way, it feels good to have the words out, to have told someone about Bianca. It feels good to have told Will. It makes Nico a little less scared, knowing that the other man has let him say all that and is still holding his hand. Kind of feels like Will could already be a part of his complicated story.

”I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t know what I’m doing”, Nico laughs emotionlessly. He can see Will turn his head but doesn’t meet his gaze. ”Most of the time I think I’m an okay dad, and that I’m doing just fine. But then you came along, and suddenly I’m a mess, and you make me forget that I’m not supposed to be looking for a relationship. And I’m fucking scared to let anyone in, because letting someone in means letting someone into Ciara’s life.”

”Nico…”

”I mean, it’s been the two of us since she was born and – and before that”, Nico swallows dry and stands up to pace around, letting go of Will’s hands in the process. He doesn’t look at Will in fear of really starting to cry now. He hasn’t talked about this to anyone before. He hasn’t _had_ anyone to talk about it with. ”Before that it was just me and Bianca for years, and I can’t… I don’t know _how_ to be more than two again. I don’t know how to do it, and it’s fucking scary.”

Neither of them say anything for a long while. Nico stands there in front of the TV, wanting very badly to look at Will but lacking the courage, and he can feel Will’s eyes on him. His heart is beating fast, he keeps his fists balled to try and calm himself, and he counts his breaths.

A part of Nico is proud of himself for letting all that out. For sharing. For letting someone in. But a bigger part of him seems terrified, and he resists the urge to scold himself out loud. They were having a wonderful evening, everything was going smoothly, and Nico had to go and ruin everything. He runs both his hands through his hair and wonders if he has ruined his relationship with Will, too.

”I’d like to help you with that”, Will says quietly, breaking the silence, and it’s like Nico’s whole body has stopped functioning. He’s afraid to move a muscle in case he’d break some sort of spell. ”Being more than two. I could help. I’d love to.” And after a split second of silence, Will stammers, ”I mean, if you let me.”

Nico hears Will get up, but he doesn’t move until the man gently touches his shoulder. He lets out the breath he’s been holding, and relaxes his shoulders. When Will’s hand comes up to caress the side of his face, he leans into the touch without a second thought.

It’s fucking crazy, Nico thinks. He has known Will for a total of four months. He shouldn’t be this emotionally invested on someone he has known for four months. But the fact that he has just bared his heart to this man, and that Will Solace has offered to be there with him, to teach him how to live with people again…

To Nico, suddenly three isn’t that much bigger a number than two. Not really. Not anymore.

When Nico leans up to press his lips on Will’s, he tries to pour his heart to the kiss in a way he hasn’t before with anyone. Because Will isn’t just anyone anymore. Will is someone he trusts more than anyone without really even knowing why, and it’s fucking scary, but Nico decides it’s time to let go of the fear and live. He has lived for Ciara for seven years, putting his life on hold to help hers begin, and he thinks he deserves this. Nico realizes it doesn’t make him a bad father to want something more with Will.

And perhaps Will understands what he’s trying to say with the kiss, because slowly their pace picks up, and before Nico understands what’s happening he has his hands under Will’s shirt. Will’s tongue is in his mouth and he tastes the wine. He feels the soft fingers that draw circles on his lower back, going lower and lower on each round. When Nico leans to press their bodies tighter together, he’s rewarded with a low groan that escapes Will’s mouth and _fuck_ it makes him tremble like a leaf.

”Nico”, Will breathes, and it sounds a lot like a prayer. He dips his head to nib on Nico’s throat and neck and ear. ”Oh, you have no idea how many times I’ve imagined this, Nico. How many times I’ve panted your name against my pillow while picturing you here with me.” The intensity of the words makes Nico’s head spin and his legs buckle. It’s crazy how they have both been waiting for this for too long. ”How much I really want to pin you against the wall and fuck you senseless right now.”

”Well if that’s the case then what the fuck are you waiting for?” Nico doesn’t care how he got this bold, because he needs Will, and he needs him _right now_ , and if Will’s hands get any lower he’s going to lose all control over his body.

Nico can feel Will’s hot breath of laughter on his face. ”Bossy.”

But after that it’s pretty much all lips and tongue and limbs, and Nico really doesn’t care how bossy he had to be to get this far, because the things Will does to him are worth it, they are _so_ worth it. It’s like Will knows exactly how to use every part of his body for maximum satisfaction, and Nico’s a whimpering mess. It doesn’t help that Will is so vocal, whispering all that stuff against Nico’s skin that makes him want more, and breathing those provocative words to his ear.

Afterwards, when they’re just a big pile of limbs on the bed and their hearts beat as one while Will uses his hand to stroke the hair from Nico’s sweaty forehead, Nico feels better than he has in years. He wonders if it’s because of all the sex; if it’s because he’s so fucking exhausted that he can’t move a muscle, or because he can’t remember the last time someone made him come four times, or because he can feel his skin tingle in all the places Will has touched him. He wonders if he feels better because, after so many years, he finally had some pretty amazing sex, not just a quickie in the club bathroom.

But then again, Nico thinks, _it wasn’t just sex_. Not to him, at least. Sure, it started that way, but in the end it was so much more. Because Nico has given his heart and soul to Will, and now he has given his body, too, and just the thought feels _so fucking good_ Nico can’t stop a tired smile from appearing on his lips.

Will’s chest is rising and falling slowly under Nico’s head. It feels a little awkward to lie there naked with him, but Nico doesn’t care. He tugs the sheets up just a little bit more and nuzzles against Will’s side, letting out a contended sigh. The last thing he feels before drifting off to sleep is Will pressing a soft kiss on his forehead and taking hold of his hand.

* * *

 _From: jay: [19:36] omg_  
_From: jay: [19:36] omg nico i told you so !!!!!_  
_From: jay: [19:36] i fucking told you so, nico, why do you never listen to me_  
_From: jay: [19:37] don’t worry about ciara, we’ll take care of everything_  
_From: jay: [19:37] it’s not every day i get to have her over while her dad’s getting laid_  
_From: jay: [19:37] make the most of it, you hear me ;)_  
_From: jay: [19:37] i want details later!!!_  
_From: jay: [20:49] where the fuck do you keep your spare key, di angelo????_  
_From: jay: [20:51] never mind, got it_  
_From: jay: [20:54] i’m not breaking in i swear. just came to get ciara’s toothbrush and PJs_  
_From: jay: [20:54] which reminds me  
_ _From: jay: [20:55] please at least change a shirt before picking her up tomorrow. that kid’s smarter than you give her credit for_

* * *

Nico is in love with his daughter’s soccer coach.

He knows it as soon as he sees Will that Saturday. They have been seeing each other for months now (four, not that Nico’s counting), and Jason’s still pretty much the only one who knows. And Jason has probably told Piper, but that is to be expected. However, Nico hasn’t said a word to anyone. And if he has understood correctly from their conversations, neither has Will.

It’s sad, in a way. Nico feels like he should be more open with his relationship with Will. And maybe he would be if the situation was different. Nico knows it’s stupid to even think about it, but he wonders how the other parents on the bleachers would react if they found out he is the one Coach Will subtly refers to when he’s talking about a date or agreeing that ”my partner does that, too”. Nico has a feeling that not all the moms would be too happy about it.

And then there’s Ciara to think about. Nico can’t even think about telling anyone else about him seeing Will before letting his daughter know. But how do you tell your seven year old daughter that her father is seeing her soccer coach?

But it’s different now, Nico feels it. He loves Will. He’s _in love_ with Will. The thought fills his head as he watches the golden curls drip with slight rain, the bright smile never wavering and the proud posture of a soccer coach never once showing signs of tiredness. The love Nico feels for Will fills his heart and makes it pound against his rib cage and jump to his throat every time Will as much as looks at his direction. It makes Nico’s mouth dry and palms sweat and knees buckle, and he’s really happy he’s sitting down because otherwise he would be lying in the wet grass.

”Ciara’s getting better with the feints”, Annabeth notices next to Nico, who nods in agreement. She’s really showing, now, the baby bump evident even under her rain coat. Nico has learned last week that she’s expecting a boy, and sharing that information has made her calmer, in a way. And Nico is happy for her.

They sit in silence for a while, as they have done through many soccer practices before. Nico likes the silence. He likes the fact that he has a friend (is Annabeth his friend?) who doesn’t expect him to share every detail of his life every minute of the day. And he appreciates the silence even more now that his head is pounding with the realization that he actually _loves_ Will Solace, soccer coach and pediatrician and his boyfriend of four months.

Nico wants to shout it out to the world. He wants to let everyone know that he loves Will, that he wants to be with him now and next month and for years to come. He wants to scream that he has never loved anyone like this before.

But he’s Nico di Angelo, so he sits there in the cold rain and watches the practice, keeping his mouth shut.

”I’ve noticed you took my advice”, Annabeth says then, and Nico turns his head to look at her, not understanding what she’s talking about. ”About Will. I mean, you two are still so painfully obvious it makes me want to hit something, but at least you’re doing _something_.” Nico feels himself blush, wondering if Annabeth has actually any idea how much _something_ they have been doing lately. ”Although I still think you should ask him out. You two would be perfect together.”

And Nico doesn’t mean to say it. He’s not sure what he was originally going to say, but when he opens his mouth all that comes out is, ”We _are_.”

Fuck.

Fucking _shit_.

Nico quickly turns his eyes back to the field, trying to ignore the way Annabeth is now gaping at him. He wonders if it would be too obvious to leave now and come back in twenty minutes when the practice ends. Maybe that way he would be saved from further humiliation.

”No way”, Annabeth breathes in shock, and a part of Nico wants to roll his eyes. Surely it wasn’t that surprising. ”For how long, exactly?”

For a fleeting moment Nico toys with the idea of denying it all. But Annabeth is way too smart – he’d never be able to convince her, not after that fucking stupid comment he made. ”A few months, now”, he says, trying to sound nonchalant about it all, but the spreading on his lips betrays him. ”But we’re keeping it in the down low for now."

Annabeth asks a few more questions (Nico has never thought her to be this curious before), and Nico answers while trying to keep as many details to himself as possible. He makes her swear not to say anything to anyone until they make it public, and she smiles at him and agrees to that – but points out that now that she knows, a lot of the looks Nico and Will have been giving each other make much more sense. She even adds that she wouldn’t be surprised if the others have caught up already, and once again Nico wants to disappear. Badly.

But then Will glances at the bleachers again and their eyes meet for a split second, and inside Nico the fireworks erupt again. He feels so stupid for acting like a fucking school girl with a crush, but he can’t help it, because he loves Will and wants the world to know.

Nico doesn’t tell the world. Not for a few weeks. But when the practice ends that day and Nico meets with Ciara on the field to exchange a few polite words with Will, he has to bite his cheeks to not grin like a maniac.

”Good to see you again, Nico”, Will smiles, and Nico wonders if others can see that sparkle in his eyes, too.

”You too, coach”, he replies, and when they shake their hands Nico feels a tingle down his spine. He tries to force his heart beat down, but doesn’t have much luck. ”I’m looking forward to the game next week.”

Will’s smile is more like a smirk when he looks at Nico then, and Nico wonders if it’s the rain or his new realization about love, but the blue eyes seem even bluer than usual. ”Me too.”

When Nico takes Ciara’s practice bag and they start their way home, Nico feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and wishes it wasn’t raining so he could read it, because he just knows it’s a text from Will. They walk in silence, until Ciara squeezes his hand when they wait to cross the street across their apartment.

”Dad, why did Coach Will look at you like that?” she asks, and Nico has to lean down a little to hear her over the traffic.

Nico really hopes that his voice is steady as he asks, ”Like what?”

But Ciara confirms all Nico’s nightmares when she answers, making it clear to him that it’s time to let his daughter in on the secret. ”Like the way Uncle Jason sometimes looks at Aunt Piper when he thinks I can’t see.”

It is in that moment that Nico decides to not dance around the subject anymore. And to tell Jason to keep his bedroom eyes in check when Ciara’s around.

”That, sweetheart”, he answers and holds her hand a little tighter, ”is a really good question. And I’m going to let Will answer that to you when we have dinner tomorrow.”

* * *

 _From: will: [15:14] you look hot when you’re all flustered  
_ _To: will: [15:38] shut it solace_  
_To: will: [15:39] cancel your plans for tomorrow, you’re having dinner with me and ciara_  
_From: will: [15:41] breaking down the news?  
_ _To: will: [15:41] long overdue, don’t you think_

 _To: jay: [15:44] would it be too much to ask to keep it in your pants when ciara’s around_  
_To: jay: [15:44] seriously grace, and you say i’m the horny teenager  
_ _From: jay: [16:25] i don’t know what she told you, but i can assure you i have a good explanation_


	2. Chapter 2

Nico is worried about Ciara.

Ever since the dinner with Will three weeks ago she has been a little distant. It’s nothing big; just a little less talking and a little more silence between them than usual. She talks more about the things she wants to do with Piper and her school friends than the ones she does with Nico. She has asked to go to a sleepover three weekends in a row. Suddenly Ciara has developed an interest in reading every book in their apartment instead of talking to her father. And as for soccer… she has stopped talking about soccer altogether.

Ciara still looks happy to go to practice. She still works on her feints and shuttles and tackles in the yard every day after school. She’s getting better, and during practice Nico can see that Will is praising her on her accomplishes just like she deserves. But when Nico doesn’t make it to the practice and tries to ask how it was, she shrugs and quickly changes the subject.

Nico has a feeling it has to do with Will. It’s hard to tell, though; she seems to like him just the same during practice, and when Will has been over at their apartment a few times she talks to her coach like she always does, and laughs and jokes like any other day. She has a trouble of not calling Will ”coach” when they talk about her school day, but other than that there doesn’t seem to be a problem. To an outside eye everything seems to be fine, but Nico knows his daughter, sees the difference, and can’t think of anything else that would make her that way.

”Maybe you’re over reacting”, Jason suggests over the phone as Nico shops for groceries. ”Wouldn’t be the first time, right?”

Nico sighs and stops at the end of the isle to check the list for bread. ”Right.” He remembers Ciara’s terrible two’s and his reactions to that all too well, and he knows how many times he has over reacted in the past. This could all be just a phase.

”I mean, it’s not like she doesn’t _like_ Will. She talks about her almost more than you do, and really, that’s _a lot_. Just last week she was going on and on about something Will had said during practice that she thought was hilarious.”

”Really?” Nico arches his eyebrows even though Jason can’t see. This is new. Nico thinks it’s a good sign – although he doesn’t really know how he feels about the fact that his daughter can talk about soccer _and_ Will with Jason but not with him.

On the other end of the line, Jason sighs. ”Yes, really. Stop over thinking things, Nico. Ciara loves you, and she really likes Will. She just needs a little time to adjust, that’s all.”

Picking up a bag of toast and dropping it to the cart Nico lets his shoulders drop in defeat. ”Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He goes to pick up two cartons of milk. ”Are we still up for the dinner tomorrow?”

”Sure. Piper’s been waiting to try some family recipe her father sent her a few weeks back, so if it’s gross _please_ don’t let her know.”

”Duly noted.”

”Do you want to bring Will?” Nico thinks Jason sounds a little hesitant, like he isn’t sure if it’s okay to suggest that, but it’s impossible to tell without seeing the man’s face.

Nico is slightly taken aback by the question. Does he want to bring Will to the dinner with the Graces? On a long run, the answer is a firm _yes_. Dinners with the Graces are the closest thing Nico has to family dinners, and he would very much like to include Will in those. But it’s still kind of early in their relationship. They haven’t been openly together for more than two weeks, even if they have been seeing each other for months. And with Ciara being distant, Nico doesn’t think that another dinner with Will is what she needs right now.

Plus, the dinners with Jason and Piper can be a little too much even for someone who already knows them, let alone a new acquaintance. It’s better to take it slow.

”Maybe some other time”, Nico decides and pushes the cart aimlessly around the supermarket, wondering if he should by ice cream. He hasn’t had ice cream for weeks.

”I hope so. I’m getting curious about this guy. You _will_ introduce him to us before eloping, right?”

Trust Jason to always make Nico want to punch the wall. ”Fuck off.”

It is later that night that Nico lies awake in his bed and and stares at the ceiling that a severe thought comes to him. It hits him with a force that almost knocks him out, and he needs to sit up and count down from fifty before his breathing is back to normal. His hands start shaking and he tries to ball them into tight fists to keep them steady.

What if Ciara doesn’t want him dating Will?

It’s possible, Nico thinks, and the thought makes his heart ache. It hurts like hell, but Nico feels that it’s possible. It has been just Nico and Ciara for all her life, and suddenly Will is there to make it three, and of course she’s rebelling. But how far would her rebelling go?

And then Nico thinks about how he now has two people in his life who he loves equally as much, and how one of them may cause the other to leave one day. And Nico wants to think that Ciara would never be like that, that she would learn to love Will, and accept him. But Ciara is, after all, Bianca’s daughter, and Nico remembers his sister all too well. He remembers what she was capable of.

If it ever comes to it, Nico is certain Ciara would be able to make Will leave. And that thought scares him more that it should, because he shouldn’t even be thinking about this. He loves Ciara, and Ciara loves him, and she would never make Will leave as long as they’re both happy. Nico knows this, and yet the thought has made a permanent establishment in the back of his head.

Before Nico knows it, he has reached for his phone, dialled Will’s number and pressed the device to his ear. He has to wait for a minute, during which he considers hanging up, but Will answers before he can.

”Nico?” His voice is groggy and heavy from sleep, and Nico immediately regrets waking him up. ”Everything okay?”

”Yeah. Yeah, sorry, everything’s fine.” Nico rubs his face and feels like an idiot. It’s past midnight on a Wednesday, and Will has an early shift at the hospital. He should get some rest. ”You know that I love you, right?”

When Will replies, his voice is soft and warm, and Nico loves it and misses the way it feels against his skin. ”I know. I love you, too.” Nico can hear a ruffle of sheets, and imagines Will turning his pillow around to press his cheek on the cooler side. ”You sure you’re alright?”

Nico isn’t sure. ”Yeah, I’m okay. I just…” Just – what? Why has he called Will in the first place? What he says next makes him feel like a stupid teenager. ”I just wanted to hear your voice.”

Will’s sigh is barely audible, but Nico still hears it and knows exactly what the man looks like at that very moment. ”This is about Ciara, isn’t it?” When Nico doesn’t answer, Will continues, ”She needs time, Nico. I’m sure it will all be fine, but she’s in a delicate age. We can’t expect her to welcome changes this big with open arms. We’ve talked about this.”

”I know.” Nico falls back to the mattress and almost hits his head on the headboard. ”I know, and I feel stupid for worrying about this so much. I just… I love you both _so much_ , and I want us to be happy, all three of us, but it feels so fucking _hard_ right now.”

”I know, love. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

They both know that Will is in no position to make promises like that, but they pretend that he is. Hearing Will say it makes Nico feel a little better, if even for one night.

After a silence that could have gone on forever, Will sighs again. ”Nico, I gotta get some sleep. Are you going to be okay?”

Nico rubs his face again and stifles a yawn. ”Yeah. I guess. I’ll talk to you later.”

”Right. Love you.”

”Love you, too.” Nico smiles like a moron, because he still isn’t used to the way the words slip from his lips. So casually, like he has been saying them to Will all his life. ”Now go to sleep, idiot.”

* * *

”Papà, can we go get ice cream after practice?”

Nico nearly stops breathing, and he has to make a conscious decision to keep moving and not stop in the middle of the street. Ciara hasn’t called him _papà_  for years, not since she heard her friends call their fathers _dad_. He wonders if this is just a one time thing, or if the name is making a permanent return. He realizes he has missed it more than he had thought.

He holds Ciara’s hand just a little bit tighter and smiles. ”Sure. I’ve been craving for ice cream all week, to be honest.”

She doesn’t say anything else, but Nico feels like this is an important moment. He should say something. He should ask her if everything’s okay. He should make sure Ciara is comfortable with him dating her soccer coach.

”Ciara”, he starts and pulls them to a stop just a block away from the soccer field. They’re a little early, so he sits them down to a bench and makes her look at him before he speaks again. ”You do know you can talk to me if anything is bothering you, don’t you?”

Ciara’s eyes drop to her lap, and Nico hates the way she avoids eye contact. She’s never really done that before. But she’s almost eight, and Nico wants to believe that it’s nothing more than just a thing that comes with the age. That way he doesn’t have to think about other reasons, the ones that make his chest feel too tight and hands numb.

”I know”, Ciara says, and Nico tries to listen to her voice intensely, to detect any sort of resentment or anger. He finds none.

He waits for her to continue, but as she doesn’t, he sighs and shakes his head sadly. ”I hope that you understand that just because I’m with Will now doesn’t mean that I love you any less.”

”Dad – ”

”No, let me finish.” Nico takes a deep breath. He should have had this talk with her weeks ago. ”I know that it’s been just us for all your life. But that’s not how I wanted it to be. I’m not saying that it hasn’t been a wonderful life, because it has. And I love you more than you will ever be able to understand.” He reaches out to move a strand of hair out of her face. She’s made her braid herself today – she’s getting quite good at it.

”I want you to be happy, and I want to be happy, too. And I strongly believe that Will can help us with that. What I need you to understand is that whatever happens with Will or with anything else, you will _always_ be my baby girl. I will _always_ love you, and I will _always_ be your Papà. Got that?”

Nico feels old and sappy. But Ciara looks up at him, and her brown eyes are the exact same shade as his, and she looks so much like Bianca his heart aches, and she smiles.

”Got it, Papà”, she nods before getting up and taking her practice bag from him. (Nico secretly wants to cry for the use of the name _papà_  again, but bites the inside of his cheek to keep cool.) ”Now come on, we’re going to be late, and then Coach Will gets mad and won’t kiss you for a week.”

Nico gets up and rolls his eyes. ”I’m not sure that’s how this goes, but let’s go.”

* * *

For their six month anniversary, Will has made a reservation to a very classy French restaurant that has a waiting list for months. It’s almost a shame that they don’t make it to the restaurant – that they don’t make it out of Will’s apartment at all.

It’s hard to balance his life between Ciara and work and Will, Nico has noticed. Will’s hours at the hospital are irregular at best, Ciara has taken up musical theory and has piano lessons two nights a week, and Nico himself has had to stay late at work more often that he would have preferred. That part is fairly easy – the record store is close to Ciara’s school, and she likes to come there after school. Nico is able to help her with her homework in the back room, and she likes to help him stock the vinyls.

But trying to add a relationship into that? That’s the tricky part. There hasn’t really been time for dates (not that Nico complains, he’s really not a date person), and they see each other maybe twice a week plus the soccer practice. Will comes over at their apartment every other week to spend the evening, but it’s the rare occasions when Jason and Piper are willing to look after Ciara that Nico has some real alone time with Will.

So when their six month anniversary rolls around and Ciara is spending the night at the Graces, Nico and Will both know they need to make the most of their time. Which is why all of their clothes are on the floor within five minutes from Nico’s arrival.

”We’re going to miss the reservation”, Will pants against Nico’s neck but doesn’t seem to have any intention to stop. ”I heard they have some really nice chicken.”

Nico gets impatient and pushes Will’s chest until the blond falls backwards on the couch over the arm rest. ”Will Solace, you have to learn when to stop talking”, Nico breaths to his mouth as he straddles him, hands finding their way to the golden locks of hair and hips grinding down in a slow, burning rhythm.

When a low moan escapes from Will’s lips, Nico takes it as an agreement.

One thing that Nico has learned during the six months is that Will is extremely skilled with his lips. The small butterfly kisses Will peppers around his body leave him gasping for air. The curve of a smile against his own lips when they kiss after not seeing each other for days. The way Will’s lips play with Nico’s earlobe and make him squirm. The slow dance their lips have choreographed together to match their instincts, making them both slowly lose themselves into the kiss and each other.

But it’s more than that. Will has a habit of pressing his lips against Nico’s skin, not quite kissing but just keeping them there, holding still. The feel of those hot lips against his jaw, the small of his back, his inner thigh, his wrist, the nape of his neck… it has become one of Nico’s favorite feelings in the world. He can feel Will’s breath against his skin, hear his own heart beat loud in his ears, and it’s like time is standing still until Will finally moves again.

As Will does that again later that night, pressing his lips softly against the sweaty skin of Nico’s lower stomach, Nico wonders how something so simple can feel so huge. So good and intimate, and at the same time very _innocent_. (Nico knows by now that there is nothing innocent about William Solace, which makes this thought even more interesting.)

”Did I tell you I love you today?” Nico is still catching his breath as he tangles his fingers in Will’s hair. He feels more than hears the laughter Will gives in response.

”Only a few dozen times”, Will mutters as he starts kissing his way softly up Nico’s chest. He doesn’t stop until he can capture Nico’s lips with his, offering a slow and thorough kiss that would have made Nico’s head spin had he not been so completely exhausted already. ”Happy six months, Nico.”

Nico smiles and lazily traces a finger along Will’s cheek bones and jaw line, committing every detail to his memory. ”Happy six months, Will.”

Will settles to rest his chin on Nico’s chest, looking up at him and smiling. Nico holds his gaze, never looking away, and tries to recall time when he didn’t know how blue someone’s eyes could be. He doesn’t remember.

They stay like that for what feels like hours. Nico strokes Will’s hair gently and tries to count the freckles on his cheek, but gives up every time he gets to thirty-seven and looses count. Once the heat of the after-sex is gone the room starts to feel chilly to their skin, and they battle their way under the covers while staying tangled with each other. Will’s fingers draw small circles to Nico’s side, and Nico closes his eyes in contentment and wonders if it’s normal to feel this much love towards one person.

At some point Nico is almost convinced that Will has fallen asleep, but then the blond scoots up on the bed to nuzzle his face into the crook of Nico’s neck. Nico’s fingers run up and down the other man’s spine.

”We should probably try to sleep”, Will whispers before settling down on his side next to Nico. ”If my memory serves me right, we promised to take Ciara to the park tomorrow.”

During the nights they have spent together, Nico has found it most comfortable to fall asleep with his head on Will’s chest, listening to the steady beat of the man’s heart and tangling their legs together until it’s impossible to tell where one person ends and the other starts. They do this now, too; Will takes Nico’s hand and laces their fingers together and hides his face to Nico’s hair, and both of them let out an inaudible sigh that could be mistaken as a yawn.

”She has started to call me _papà_  again”, Nico says softly against Will’s chest. He doesn’t know why, but he feels that he wants to share this small change with Will. It might not even mean anything, but Nico loves hearing her use even one word of his mother tongue.

”Yeah?” Will squeezes his hand slightly. Nico squeezes back.

”She hasn’t called me that since she was four.”

The lips are there again, the extremely skilled lips, pressing against Nico’s hairline. Not quite kissing, just holding still. Nico closes his eyes and listens to Will’s heart, strong and steady under his head. He thinks he could listen to that heart every night before falling to sleep, for the rest of his life.

”Why do you think she started again?”

Nico doesn’t know, but he’s ridiculously happy she has.

* * *

Will moves in two weeks after the soccer season ends.

Nico still claims that Ciara is acting strange, but no one else seems to notice. Will tries to convince him that she’s fine, tells him time and time again that she’s acting completely normal, and slowly Nico starts to accept it. Maybe it’s his own nerves acting up. Or maybe Ciara is almost eight, not that much a little girl anymore, and she’s changing.

”Papà, I can’t open my door!” Ciara yells from her room, trying to push open the door but failing miserably. Nico quickly starts to rearrange the boxes, pushing them around the hallway from blocking her door, but ending up forming a barricade in the archway that leads to the living room. ”There’s too many boxes.”

She’s right, of course. The apartment wasn’t that big to begin with, but with Will’s stuff there it feels just tiny. There’s no way they will be able to live like this, the three of them. Nico locks his eyes with Will over the mountain of boxes and knows that the other is thinking the same.

They start looking, and after a few weeks of indoor parkour (that Ciara slowly starts to enjoy a little too much) Will shows Nico a few pictures of a beautiful three bedroom apartment just a couple of blocks away. It’s close enough so Ciara won’t have to change school, and Nico can still walk to work. It’s twice the size of their current place, and it’s spacey and inviting, with two bathrooms and an actual balcony that has a view over the city.

And it’s for sale.

”You’re going to _buy_ an apartment?” Jason exclaims when Nico tells him over coffee, carefully placing his mug out of Tom’s reach on the table.

Nico shrugs. ”I don’t know, maybe? I mean, we’ve talked about it, and there have been some pretty good arguments.”

Jason looks at him funny, Nico wants to throw his coffee to his face. He doesn’t like it when he doesn’t understand Jason. ”That’s a pretty big commitment, Nico. Bigger than just living together. Are you sure you’re up to that?”

A year ago Nico would have said no. He would have laughed at the person who had the nerve to suggest he should buy an apartment with his daughter’s soccer coach. But right now, sitting in Jason and Piper’s kitchen and watching as Tom runs around the room pretending to be a super hero… it’s hard to even remember the person Nico was a year ago. And it’s weird to think that this all started with him being sexually frustrated over Coach Will.

So Nico doesn’t really have to think about his answer. Like, at all.

”Yeah”, he says, and a soft smile makes its way to his face, probably (hopefully) taking Jason by surprise. ”Yeah, I am.”

* * *

On their first morning in their new apartment Nico wakes up to the sudden cold. He opens his eyes just a crack to see what Will is doing.

”Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he mumbles to his pillow and reaches out, but he’s still too tired to move and Will’s hand is just out of reach. ”Back here. Now.” He doesn’t sound as bossy as he would like, but more like a whining child.

Will turns his head, and for a few seconds Nico thinks he’s still dreaming. There’s _no way_ this angel has just crawled out of _his_ bed. ( _Their_ bed, Nico reminds himself, and the thought still makes him giddy, no matter how long they have actually lived together already.) Nico fights the urge to pinch himself to see if he’s really awake. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I was going to make breakfast.”

They have yet to put the curtains up, so the morning light gets to the room unfiltered, making Will’s messy hair shine in gold and orange and yellow and platinum. Nico has always thought Will is beautiful, but in this light he looks absolutely stunning. The freckled cheeks are still pink from sleep and the blue eyes are half shut, and the long lashes cast delicate shadows across the high cheek bones and make Nico wish he had a camera. Or that he knew how to take decent pictures.

Will isn’t wearing a shirt, and Nico gets a good look at the toned chest that has freckles sprayed on it like paint on canvas. There’s a red spot on Will’s left side, right under his ribs, where Nico has bit down the previous night. The sheets pool around Will’s waist, and Nico _knows_ there aren’t any clothes under them, which just makes the display all the better.

Nico is still staring when Will leans in and presses a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. ”Go back to sleep, love. I’ll wake you up with pancakes. Sound good?”

There really isn’t any room for arguments, as Will slips out of bed before Nico can even open his mouth. The blond man starts looking for something to wear, but Nico truly enjoys watching the curves of his back and rear and thighs. What makes it even better is that Nico knows exactly how the muscles feel under his touch. And yet somehow Will still manages to look like something unearthly, something out of this world that takes Nico’s breath away.

”You’ve been up five minutes, at most. How the fuck do you look that good?”

Will laughs quietly and pulls on last night’s t-shirt while looking for his sweatpants. ”You don’t look too bad yourself.” He finds the pants and (much to Nico’s disappointment) puts them on before falling on the bed again, face only an inch away from Nico’s. ”And I’ve been awake for nearly half an hour. I’ve just been enjoying the feeling.”

Nico closes his eyes and hums to the kiss. ”What feeling?”

”The feeling of waking up next to the man I love.”

Secretly, Nico actually loves it when Will says corny stuff like that, but usually he just brushes them off with sarcasm. Now, however… ”Yeah, well. Get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

When Nico opens his eyes again he sees Will’s eyes staring at him in a strange way that makes the sky blue irises look almost turquoise. ”I hope so.” Nico’s heart skips a beat or two.

Their lips connect again, and things could have escalated a lot if there wasn’t a small knock on the bedroom door. ”Dad? Are you awake?”

Nico sighs, pecks Will’s lips one more time and sits up. ”Just a second, Ciara”, he says loud enough for his daughter to hear before finding his boxers behind a small pile of unpacked boxes. He slips them on quickly before calling Ciara to tell her to come in.

She steps in wearing the pajamas Jason and Piper bought her last Christmas, and Nico notices she’s already growing out of them. (Mental note to tell Piper when she goes Christmas shopping.) She stands in the doorway with her hair half out of the braid Nico made her last night and rubs her face tiredly. It’s eight in the morning on a Sunday, she’s allowed to sleep as long as she wants. But unlike Nico, Ciara has always woken up before nine. It’s infuriating.

”Good morning, Sunshine”, Will smiles, and Nico loves the warmth in his voice when addressing Ciara. Will has limited the nickname Sunshine for strictly her by now, instead of using it as a general pet name like he did before. ”Did you sleep well?”

Ciara nods and rubs her face in a way that Nico realizes she has learned from him. ”Dad, can you show me how to make pancakes?”

Nico smiles. ”Sure, sweetheart.”

”I wasn’t talking to you, Papà. Your pancakes suck.”

It takes Nico ten seconds in total to register what Ciara has said. She said Dad. _I wasn’t talking to you, Papà._ But she did say _Dad_ , right? (He also chooses to ignore the fact that she thinks his pancakes suck and Will’s don’t. Nico is the one who taught Will to make pancakes in the first place, for fuck’s sake.)

Ciara is looking at Will expectantly. Nico turns his eyes to the man just in time to see the same realization sink in Will, too. _Dad_. Nico’s heart is beating faster and faster, and his eyes are burning and his throat feels tight. _Dad_. _I wasn’t talking to you, Papà_. If Nico thought he was happy before, it was nothing compared to what he is feeling now.

All this time Nico has been worrying about Ciara not accepting Will as part of their little family. For months he has been having trouble sleeping because Ciara has seemed distant. Nico has fretted over this for well over half a year, having nightmares where he has to choose between Ciara and Will – and all that time he really has had nothing to worry about in the first place.

Ciara has called Will Dad. Bluntly and unceremoniously, like she does most things. She has just dropped the word sounding like she has done it a million times before, even though this is the first time. Nico can see Will’s eyes watering and reaches for his hand.

”Yes, of course, Sunshine.” Nico knows Will well enough to know when he’s about to break, and squeezes the fingers a little tighter. Will squeezes back, and Nico feels how the hand shakes slightly. ”Go wash your hands, okay? I’ll be right there.”

The first tear falls down Will’s cheek the second Ciara exits the bedroom. Nico chuckles, still shocked from the new development, and wipes the tear away with his thumb. One of the things he loves most about Will is the man’s inability to conceal his feelings. Will’s smile is full of wonder and happiness, and Nico falls just a little bit more in love with him every time he looks at him. It’s surreal to think that they have been together for well over eight months and Will can still make his head spin with the smallest of things.

Nico pulls Will’s hand on his lips and kisses the knuckles. ”I guess we now know why she switched back to Papà with me, huh?” he says softly, not really trusting his voice and trying to keep his own tears from falling. He can’t remember when was the last time he wanted to cry of happiness.

Will looks like he wants to say a lot of things but can’t find any words. He shakes his head in disbelief, the golden curls swaying against his forehead and his lips parted just a little. Nico lets go of his hand to cup his face, pulling him closer and pressing their lips together to the world’s softest kiss that still causes volcanoes erupt and fireworks go off in Nico’s stomach.

”I love you”, Will whispers and smiles, and Nico smiles back.

”I love you, too.”

After one more quick peck Nico leans back just in time to hear a loud crash coming from the kitchen, followed by Ciara’s muffled ”I’m okay!”

Will lets out a breathless laugh and rubs his face to get rid of rest of the tears. ”I guess I should go there before she gets herself in trouble”, he says and stands up, and Nico flops back on the bed and buries his face to the sheets that smell a little bit more like Will than him.

”Make sure the pancakes have chocolate chips in them.”

* * *

”Jason, she…” Nico has to swallow hard and keep his eyes on the floor to keep himself crying. A wide, happy smile makes its way to his lips when he says, ”She calls him her Dad, Jason.”

Nico can’t remember being this happy for years. He hides his face to his hands so Jason can’t see the goofy smile and the tears that he can’t keep from falling. It has been three days since the first time Ciara called Will her Dad, and there has been many times since that, and it’s all sinking in slowly and surely. Nico is Papa. Will is Dad. And Ciara is their daughter, and it’s all so _good_ Nico wants to laugh until his lungs ache and he can’t breathe anymore.

Nico can hear Jason take a few steps closer before an arm is placed on his shoulders. ”It’s okay to show happiness, Nico”, Jason chuckles and pulls him to a hug. ”And boy do you have reason to be happy. I told you that you were over reacting, didn’t I?”

”Shut up, Jason.” Nico sniffs and leans his head on his friend’s shoulder briefly. ”Let me have this.” He can’t even remember the last time he let Jason hug him at all, never mind actually leaning into the hug himself.

After a good while of just standing there in the kitchen, listening to the sounds of Ciara and Tom playing and Piper and Will talking about something that might have to do with Piper’s dream of becoming a nurse, Nico pulls himself away and tries to subtly wipe away the remaining tears. The smile still stays on, and he isn’t even sure he wants to hide it anymore. Why hide the fact that he’s the happiest he ever remembers being?

”It feels really good to see you like this, Neeks”, Jason says softly, and when Nico glances at him he sees the fond smile and shining eyes, like Jason too is about to cry. Jason never calls him Neeks anymore. Not since high school. ”You seem more like the person you were before Bianca died. Balanced. Carefree. _Happy_.”

Nico doesn’t say anything, but he knows exactly what Jason means. He feels different, too. He has worked hard to block the painful memories about Bianca from his mind, but now that he’s once again genuinely happy, he can’t stop them from surfacing. He remembers being happy, back when he has at school and she was alive, and it felt awfully similar to what he is feeling now. The very thought of Will and Ciara and their little family makes Nico’s heart melt and lips tug into a smile. He knows for certain he wants to be with Will for the rest of his life – and he can’t wait for it to start already.

”I _am_ happy”, Nico finally admits quietly and slowly returns to his dishes. Will’s laughter can be heard through the hallway, and it makes Nico’s smile widen even more. ”Very happy.”

* * *

Annabeth has her baby in the early hours on New Years Day. When Nico wakes up in the morning he sees a text from her, with a picture attached. Will spoons him and looks at the picture while kissing his shoulder.

”He’s beautiful”, Will says, and Nico snorts.

”He’s a baby. Babies are not _beautiful_ , they look like _babies_.” But he has to agree, the tiny baby with a small mob of black hair is beautiful. It makes him think about the time when Ciara was that small, and Ciara was _gorgeous_. And despite himself, Nico takes Will’s hand and smiles.

Later that day, when the Graces come over for a late lunch, Will takes out a good bottle of wine to celebrate the new year. Piper smiles and drinks her water, and her eyes sparkle. She doesn’t really have to say it, because Will is a doctor and _knows_ , and Nico is not stupid, but she says it anyway, and it makes Jason smile stupidly with a happy glow on his face.

Nico smiles too, and he’s genuinely happy for them. But his chest is tight.

The news of a new Baby Grace shouldn’t shock Nico this much. He’s seen the signs. He remembers Piper’s complaints of swollen feet from when she was pregnant with Tom, and this isn’t exactly a surprise. It’s not like Jason hasn’t been one big ball of sunshine and happiness for the past few weeks; he might as well have put up a banner over his head.

And maybe it’s not even the news that cause Nico the slowly growing headache and irregular pulse. Right after Piper announces her pregnancy and the hugs are over and done with, Will is back in his chair next to Nico, reaching for his hand under the table. It’s nothing new – they hold hands constantly during meals with friends. But there’s something in the way that Will’s soft fingers slowly lace together with Nico’s that makes him wonder if Will is asking him something he doesn’t yet quite know how to answer.

* * *

 _To: soccer mom jackson: [17:23] since i’ve never met percy i can’t really say, but i think the baby looks a lot like you  
_ _To: soccer mom jackson: [17:23] congrats, you all  
_ _To: soccer mom jackson: [17:23] from ciara and will, too  
_ _From: soccer mom jackson: [18:45] Thank you! And he does look like me – although he has his father’s nose. All of them do.  
_ _From: soccer mom jackson: [18:47] Happy New Year to you guys. Hopefully this year you’ll be a little less dense!  
_ _From: soccer mom jackson: [18:47] (you know I’m talking about rings, right?)_

* * *

Nico thinks there probably is a rule about it being inappropriate to be mad at women who have just given birth. But despite that he is going to murder Annabeth Jackson.

They haven’t seen each other for three months, not since the soccer season ended, but she has still managed to mess with his head. Ever since New Year’s all Nico has been able to think about is Will and rings, and it’s crazy. It’s absolutely fucking crazy, because he has been dating Will for less than a year and he doesn’t even know if Will feels the same way about their relationship as he does.

(That’s a lie – of course Nico knows, and of course Will does. But what if he doesn’t?)

But of course Nico wants to marry Will. There’s no question about it. When the idea was first introduced to his mind it never left, and it has been there for months now. Nico has probably thought about marrying Will since the day Will moved in and they finally shared a home. It has been a little less than three months now, and the thoughts about Will and rings are driving Nico crazy little by little.

Nico has been staring at Will for almost an hour now. It’s late at night on a Sunday, and Will has just finished a double shift in the hospital. Ciara is fast asleep (she was allowed to stay up long enough for Will to get home and kiss her good night), and Will is curled up in a blanket at the other end of the couch, his legs tangled with Nico’s. He has a medical journal in his lap and reading glasses pushed up the bridge of his nose, and Nico’s heart is bounding against his ribcage.

Nico has long since abandoned his book and settled on watching the other man. How can someone focus on a fucking medical journal around midnight after a long day of work at a hospital? Nico admires Will’s interest on the field, but more than that he admires the way Will’s neck cranes when he tilts his head to lean on the back of the couch.

”Will”, Nico says before he can stop himself, and his heart jumps to his throat when he realizes what he’s about to do. Will makes a small sound of acknowledgement but doesn’t look up from the magazine. Nico gets nervous, and he’s afraid of losing his cool – whenever he’s nervous he tends to lash out. ”Will, I – Will, could you _please_ stop what you’re doing for a second and look at me? This is really important.”

That makes Will’s head snap up. During the ten months they have been together they have learned to read each other’s emotions, and Nico knows that Will sees something’s on his mind. Will’s eye brows scrunch together, and a part of Nico hates himself for making the other worry like that.

”What is it, love? Is everything okay?”

Will’s words make Nico laugh because honestly, everything’s _so much more_ than okay. ”Yeah. Everything’s great. And that’s just it”, he smiles at Will, and his chest feels tight. ”Everything’s fucking _wonderful_. And…” _Deep breaths_ , someone who sounds a lot like Jason says in Nico’s head. _Deep breaths. It’s going to be fine. He loves you, you idiot_. ”Will, I want to marry you.”

The silence that follows isn’t exactly what Nico was looking for. Sure, he wasn’t planning on doing this now, or like this, or at all for the next few months or so, but still. Nico is so used to reading Will’s face like an open book that the blank expression terrifies him more than anything. Nico feels panic rising up in his chest, squeezing all the air from his lungs.

 _Oh fuck, I’ve ruined everything_. Will doesn’t want this. Will doesn’t want to get married, he wants things to stay the way they are. What was Nico thinking? Suddenly Nico is very happy he’s acting on a whim and hasn’t bought any rings yet. He doesn’t want to be the guy in a rom com that has to bring the rings back to the store. _I shouldn’t have Annabeth’s words get to me_. Nico wants to hide in the shadows, melt into them and probably never come back up again…

”You just _had_ to ruin the dinner beforehand, didn’t you?”

Nico’s heart stops right there. He blinks once, twice. Will’s voice is soft and a little breathless, not angry despite of his words. ”The – the dinner? I – _what_?”

”Dinner. Next Friday. In the French place uptown, where we were supposed to go once before.” Will laughs a little while putting his magazine and glasses gently on the coffee table. Nico notices a nervous edge on the laugh, but is still uncertain about how to read Will in his current state. ” _Fuck_ , Nico, I’ve had a reservation for _weeks_. I’ve been shitting myself every time you walk into the room because I was _so sure_ I was going to let it slip.”

Will finally lets a smile spread on his lips and Nico holds his breath. Is Will saying… ”I even spent a horrible day going through most of the jewellery stores in town. You know how much I hate shopping. It was a disaster.” Nico is starting to feel dizzy, but he’s not sure if it’s about the things he’s realizing or the lack of breathing. ”All that, and you couldn’t have waited for _five more days_. Dork.”

All Nico can do is stare. The dinner. It took Will a whole month to get Nico to agree on going to that restaurant, and it’s all Will has been talking about all week. They even had a small argument about Nico not making sure his better suit was all good. Nico remembers asking what’s so special about this date anyway, and Will answering with his usual grin and, ”I just want to spoil you a little. Is that really so bad?” Will had even gotten Ciara on his side, so it was two against one on the suit.

And all this time Will has been planning to… Nico feels his heart beat faster. Double speed – no, triple. Way faster than it should. Will’s leg is pressed against his under the blanket, and Nico marvels on the warmth.

”So… you were going to – ”

”Yes.”

”Next Friday. During dinner.”

”Well, after, most likely. You know, a walk in the park an all that. Kisses under the moon light and getting down on one knee. Very classy.”

”Oh my _god_ , Will, you’re such a fucking _cliché_.”

Will laughs and digs his toes to Nico’s calf. Nico hears a thousand wind chimes in the sound. ”I know. But you love me for it.”

Nico laughs too and loves the way Will’s eyes are shining in the dim lighting. The blond looks so damn _happy_ it makes Nico grin like a fucking idiot. Who cares that both of their plans backfired (not that Nico really had much of a plan to begin with)?

”So”, Nico whispers and leans his head on the back of the couch, mirroring Will. Their hands move in sync and find each other over the blankets. Nico wants to draw constellations with Will’s freckles.

”So.” Will keeps on smiling, and Nico loves the crinkles that form to the corners of the sky blue eyes.

”Can I take this as a yes?”

”Well, technically you haven’t asked me anything just yet – ”

” _Will_.”

William Solace isn’t naturally evil. He smiles softly and traces Nico’s knuckles with his thumb, and really, that’s pretty much all the answer Nico really needs. ”Yes”, Will still whispers, and the sound echoes in the quiet room and makes Nico feel like flying. ”Yes, Nico, of course I will marry you. Kind of a stupid question, really.”

And now, after everything is said and after his nerves have died down and he’s able to breathe again, Nico has to admit that yes, it was a stupid question. Because he knows Will, and he knew what the answer would be, deep down. Will’s hand tugs on Nico’s until he’s lying chest to chest with him, and Nico smiles down at Will before he presses their lips together in a slow kiss that says more than words ever could. He wonders why people bother with words at all.

* * *

Nico is honestly surprised that Will’s lips could get even more skilled. Isn’t there some point where you have learned everything you possibly can about moving (or not moving) your lips? There can’t be that many things to learn, right?

 _Apparently there can_ , Nico thinks idly as he struggles to breathe under Will. The taller man is pinning him to the bed and breathing against his nipples, and Nico can’t even remember his own name. The skilled lips are staying completely still, barely even touching his skin but still burning through it. Hot air makes Nico’s chest tingle and he squirms, but Will’s hold on him is strong and he can’t really move. He loves it.

”I think I told you to lie absolutely still”, Will whispers, and Nico feels the movement of his lips and lets out a strangled whimper. ”And be _quiet_.”

”Fucking impossible to keep quiet when you – oh _fuck_!”

Will chuckles slightly and repeats the flick of his tongue. ”Should I stop, then?” he asks, letting go of Nico’s arms and tracing the muscles of the man’s upper body with the tips of his fingers. Nico looks at him with pained eyes and thrusts his hips upwards.

”Don’t you fucking dare.”

It’s strange how emotional intimacy makes physical intimacy skyrocket. Everything feels exponentially more satisfying, every touch makes Nico’s skin feel like it’s burning off, every look makes his insides flip and turn to mush. For the few nights since their backfired engagement it has been a real task to keep his hands off Will, and he has had to constantly remind himself that there is a child in the aparment – something that he never has had to do before. It’s like Will makes him a horny teenager all over again, the way it was a year ago during soccer practice. And Nico both hates and loves it with a burning passion.

The ring on Nico’s finger still feels strange. It’s a simple golden band with ornamental engravings on it, identical to Will’s. It feels heavy and cold, but at the same time the mere thought of it makes Nico’s heart beat faster and his lips curve into a smile. It feels strange in a way that sunlight after a day of rain does – it’s warm and sweet and makes you happier than you thought it would.

They haven’t told people yet. It’s their own little secret for now. Ciara probably hasn’t even noticed the rings yet, but Nico knows they have to tell her soon. She’s eight and she’s smart. And they have to figure out how to tell others, too, because they’re having dinner with the Graces again on Sunday, and Nico swears Piper has eagle eyes.

But Nico isn’t thinking about Piper or eagles now. All he thinks about is Will and those fucking lips tracing meaningless figures all over his skin and going lower and lower and _fuck_ even lower…

” _Fuck_ , Will”, Nico all but moans, and Will is so close but feels so far it makes him crazy.

”Maybe later.” Will is extremely skilled with his fingers, too, as Nico is once again proven when they make his back arch. He can feel the metal of Will’s ring against his inner thigh briefly before the hand moves again. ”This is all for you, love. Now _relax_ – doctor’s orders.”

(Afterwards, when Nico is just a whimpering mess of sweaty limbs tangled in the sheets, he curses and then blesses the day Jason told Will about his thing for doctors.)

But the thing about knowing each other so well is that Nico can fully return the favor. He knows where to touch and how to get Will’s eyes roll back in ecstasy. He has memorized the patterns his lips make that cause Will’s chest heave and fists ball into the sheets. He knows by heart what he has to say to make Will completely lose it, mouth gasping for air in a silent scream and hips bucking involuntarily against his. Nico knows Will’s mind and body better than he knows his own, and it’s equally wonderful and terrifying, nerve wrecking and exciting.

Nico loves the way Will grasps for his hair and pulls it just enough for him to feel but not enough to hurt. He lives for the sound Will makes when he touches him _there oh right there fuck_. And when Will comes and chants Nico’s name like a mantra, like his life depends on it, Nico feels like his body is weightless, like he’s floating in the air surrounding them rather than clinging down to the mattress.

It was all wonderful before. But now it feels like a fucking heaven on earth.

Nico knows that Will is hyper sensitive after sex. He knows that the slightly older man enjoys the light strokes in his hair and soft kisses on his chest. Will is like a lanky sun cat, stretching in the sun and purring to Nico’s touch, and Nico kisses the eye lids that flutter shut under his touch.

”Oh my god”, Will pants, and Nico is unbelievably proud that he’s the one that made Will like that. ”Every time, Nico. _Every single time_.”

Even if Will doesn’t say it, Nico knows. Nico _always_ knows. And that’s why they’re so good together, Nico thinks – they understand each other perfectly and work like a well oiled machine, seamlessly and without fault.

And it’s not just the sex. It’s the way they live; how they have fallen into a swiftly repeating cycle of who’s turn it is to cook dinner and do the dishes and who picks Ciara from school; the smiles and light touches and post it notes on the fridge and other small gestures during the day, showing the other how much they are loved; the way Will wakes up first and has a steaming cup of black coffee waiting for Nico by the time he comes out of the shower; how listening to Will and Ciara’s quiet chatter before bedtime has become Nico’s favorite thing in the world.

Nico lies on his back and looks at Will. The blond’s eyes are closed, but Nico know’s he’s not asleep; knows from the tender smile and the hand that holds his close to the freckled chest.

”I want us to be a family”, he says and watches the eyes open again. ”You and me and Ciara. I want us to be a real family.”

Will has a strange look on his face. ”I think we are pretty close to one already.”

”I know. But that’s not what I mean.” Nico rolls to his side and leans his head on his hand while still holding Will’s fingers with the other. ”I want to make it real on paper. Official. After we get married, I want you to adopt Ciara so she can have two legal parents like she deserves.”

Will’s eyes are watering, like they always are when he’s overwhelmed with emotion. Nico is once again reminded how beautiful the man is, how bright the blue eyes are and how amazingly mesmerizing it is to watch the tears roll down the cheeks. He leans in to kiss Will once, then twice, then countless of times more, and there may be some words exchanged too but neither of them can really tell.

Nico is happy. And so is Will.

* * *

Nico is getting married to his daughter’s soccer coach.

It’s the first practice of the season, and Annabeth is there with the tiny baby who she informs is named Fred after her father. Ciara has her leg in a cast after a nasty fall only a week ago, but she has still insisted on going to the practice. Will has backed her up, since it’s the first of the season and they’ll just be catching up for the most part. The parents sit in the first row of the bleachers and the kids are scattered around Will in the grass nearby, and Nico realizes that he has strangely missed the soccer field.

”Me too”, Annabeth admits when Nico voices his thoughts, and Fred makes a small noise before continuing his sleep. He’s a tiny thing, only four months old, and Nico kind of wants one. ”I mean Isla has calmed down a lot since Fred was born, but she still needs her weekly dose of running around after a ball.”

Nico hums and watches the kids, but his eyes quickly drift off to Will – like they always seem to do during practice. It’s crazy how he still gets so distracted, even with so many days and weeks and months together. Even when he wakes up every morning to Will’s quiet singing in the kitchen and falls asleep with the coach right there by his side. Even when he knows exactly how each and every one of those muscles flex and swift under his touch, and how it feels to run his fingers through the recently cut golden hair. Even when the ring on his finger is a promise to keep waking up and falling asleep and running fingers for the rest of his life.

And even when just that morning they have been arguing about where they’re going to have their wedding reception.

A tall girl next to Isla Jackson starts telling about her off-season activities, and Nico tries to focus. All the other soccer moms are at least pretending not to stare at Coach Will. (Nico thinks he kind of has a right to stare, but stops anyway. He has plenty of time to ogle later.)

”So, what’s it like, living with Will?” Annabeth asks after a while, and Nico turns his head to look at her. ”It’s been months and you haven’t told me anything. I thought we were friends, di Angelo.”

It hasn’t occurred to Nico before that Annabeth actually considers him a friend. He hasn’t got that many friends – basically just Jason and Piper, Reyna (who lives in Mexico and therefore he hasn’t seen in years), and Cecil, who he’s only met a few months back through Will and who still makes Nico really uneasy most of the time. Adding Annabeth to this small list of friends doesn’t seem as difficult as he thought it would.

”It’s good”, he says, and even though he doesn’t want to share his private life with people, he thinks he owes Annabeth a little more than that. She has, after all, encouraged Nico enough in the past so he had the guts to actually ask Will out in the first place. (Or was it Will that asked him? The whole memory is so blurry and awkward Nico doesn’t quite remember, nor does he really care anymore.) She’s worthy. ”It’s great, actually. He’s wonderful with Ciara, and she loves him. And sharing a home with Will is surprisingly easy, we’re really in sync on so many levels. I mean”, Nico lets out a small laugh at the memory, ”we _did_ have to work on his decorating skills at first, but as long as he doesn’t buy any furniture without asking me we’re good.”

Annabeth laughs softly, and Nico thinks he has sort of missed that, too. It’s strange, missing a friend. ”You two sound a lot like me and Percy on that one. I swear that man once tried to bring in a couch he found on the street because he said it had _character_.” Nico shuddered at the mere thought, but laughed with Annabeth nevertheless. ”But I’m glad everything’s going so well. No major arguments yet? I’m guessing Will would be the one sleeping on the couch?”

Nico shakes his head. ”We never let it go that far. Will has this policy that he never lets the sun set on an argument, so we always talk it out before going to sleep.” It doesn’t mean that things are forgotten just like that, but Nico has noticed how much easier it is to talk things out again after a good night’s sleep. And he never sleeps well anymore if Will isn’t there.

”Oh, you just wait. The wedding planning is going to make both of you crazy, I can already tell”, Annabeth hums, obviously meaning it as a joke.

But Nico plays with his ring without even realizing it, and his mind wanders back to the fucking stupid argument they had about if they should invite Nico’s distant cousins to the wedding or not. ”Yeah, tell me about it.”

It is two seconds later that he realizes they haven’t exactly told that many people yet, and that Annabeth is once again looking at him with eyes the size of plates.

_Oh fuck. Not this again._

”Are you telling me”, she says and sneaks a peek at the ring on Nico’s finger, ”that you have once again failed to tell me about a major development in your relationship with Will Solace?” When all Nico can do is nod and keep his eyes on the ring, she sighs and shakes her head. ”You wound me, Nico. I honestly have no idea what to do with you.” A small silence, during which Nico realizes it’s finally Ciara’s turn to tell about her break. ”But apparently Will does.”

Nico looks at Annabeth, and sees that she’s smiling. He smiles a little, too, and hears how Ciara tells her team mates that ”I used to have only one dad but now I have two, which is just as cool as Hannah having two moms, if not cooler”. He can feel other moms spare a glance at him, but he isn’t bothered. A year ago he could have been, maybe, but not now. Not anymore.

”Congratulations, Nico”, Annabeth says softly once the attention is turned back to the kids on the field. ”So, spill. Who popped the question? Was it awfully romantic?”

”It was more of a mutual understanding”, Nico mutters, not going into detail. Will gives him a quick look from where he’s sitting in the grass while Ciara still goes on and on about how cool it is to have two dads, and Nico tries to keep his smile from spreading any wider. ”And I don’t know, I guess it had some romantic elements. Enough to convince me, at least.”

Annabeth tries to pry more, tries to tell Nico that he actually owes her details, but he doesn’t tell her. He hasn’t told even Jason. It’s not like there’s some huge secret about the way they got engaged, but something about it feels too private, too personal to share. Nico already tells Jason most things about his life. This he wants to keep to himself.

When the practice ends, Isla drags Ciara to the bleachers by the hand to show off her new brother. The other moms seem to have surrounded Will in seconds, gushing about the ring and asking about his break. Will spares Nico a pleading look, and Nico smirks and thinks it’s actually a good thing his black clothes make him despicable to the others.

”He’s so _tiny_ ”, Ciara sighs in wonder when Annabeth lets her hold Fred. Nico keeps an eye on her, but it seems like the girl is a natural when it comes to holding babies. He remembers when Tom was that small, and how even at five years old Ciara held him better than most adults did.

Isla strokes the black hairs on Fred’s hair. ”He’s even tinier than Sally was when she was born, isn’t he, Mom? That’s what Dad says, anyway.”

Little Fred opens his eyes, and Nico is in awe. He’s never thought someone else’s babies as beautiful as Ciara, but Fred’s eyes are sea green. How can a baby’s eyes be sea green? A part of Nico’s mind makes a mental note to ask Will about that. Fred makes a small noise of surprise when he sees he’s no longer held by his mother, but Ciara smiles at him and coos, and he calms down. _She’s like a fucking baby whisperer_ , Nico thinks.

They sit on the bleachers fawning over Fred until most of the others have left. Will is finally free from the obviously jealous moms, and he picks up Ciara’s crutches before making his way to them.

”Ciara, what have I told you about running around without these?” he asks with a stern voice that makes Ciara smile sheepishly. They have had this talk way too many times during the past three days. ”Do you actually _want_ to have crutches for the whole season?”

Ciara shakes her head, careful not to disturb Fred who is once again drifting off. ”Of course not. Sorry, Dad, I won’t forget again.” Nico knows she will. ”But look! Isn’t he cute?”

Will leans in a little, and his eyes are remarkably soft when he looks at Fred, who is now being transferred back to Annabeth. Nico loves that softness, almost as much as he loves Will. ”He is”, Will says, and Nico knows without looking that he gives him a meaningful look. It makes Nico’s heart skip a beat. ”Adorable.”

”Papà, when do _I_ get a little brother?”

Sometimes Nico wonders if Ciara can actually read minds. The words make him turn his eyes to her and his cheeks flush, and he can tell Annabeth is trying her best not to laugh when she straps Fred to the baby carrier. Nico is suddenly very aware of Wills presence, and he makes it a point not to look at him. He has always known Ciara to be blunt. He’s never realized she’s also cruel.

”I never knew you wanted one”, Nico says, trying to sound like the question doesn’t make his head spin. He’s been thinking about it a lot lately, but they haven’t exactly _talked_ about it yet. ”And you’ve always said Tom’s your brother, right?”

He knows he’s stalling, but he really doesn’t want to have this conversation here and now with Annabeth of all people as their witness. He makes Ciara put on her jacket and makes sure the zipper’s all the way up to her chin before he lets her speak again.

”It’s not the same, Papà. You know it isn’t. Besides, _Tom_ is getting a little brother or sister, too.” She turns to look at Will with those puppy dog eyes that Nico knows Will can’t resist, and really, he has created a monster. Nico doesn’t know if he should be mortified or proud. ”Dad, please. Tell Papà I need a little brother.”

Nico’s eyes meet Will’s, and he just _knows_ that they’re thinking the same. That Will wants a family just as much as Nico does. That it’s not only Ciara who wants a baby in the house. That even though Ciara is soon officially both Nico’s and Will’s equally, they want someone who they can raise as _theirs_ from the very beginning.

That neither of them want to discuss this _here_.

”We’ll talk about it at home”, Will says and gives the crutches to Ciara, who looks disappointed but takes them anyway.

They say their farewells to the Jacksons on the parking lot (Annabeth is still smirking knowingly and Nico has to remind himself not to hit her while there are kids around) before slowly starting to make their way home. Ciara is clumsy with the crutches, but when Will offers to carry her she strictly refuses because she can very well manage herself, thanks Dad. She goes a few steps ahead of them, making people sidestep from her every now and then and giving a few pigeons a heart attack. Nico straightens the bag on his shoulder and smiles.

When Will’s hand finds Nico’s and the fingers link together, Nico thinks about the matter of a baby again. He has a few arguments about it, things that have come to mind during the few weeks he has thought about it. Nothing major, mostly questions about the how and the when. But Will’s hand is warm and calloused and familiar, and the slight squeeze makes Nico want to kiss the freckled knuckles. He knows it’s never going to be easy, never going to be simple and one tracked and doubtless. 

But Will has taught Nico how to be more than two again. They are already three.

And really, is four really that much more than three?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I know some of you may think it strange how quickly Ciara starts calling Will Dad. I take that from my own life; I was eight (Ciara's age) when my Dad started dating his soon to be wife, and I don't think it took me more than a few months to start calling her Mom. Kids are accepting and flexible when it comes to the names they call their family members.
> 
> Second, about the way Nico and Will are quick to get married. Another thing I took from my own life. My Dad married my aforementioned stepmom after dating her for less than ten months, I think. No one saw it as strange. I think it's quite natural, seeing as Nico and Will are both adults and know exactly what they want from the relationship and from their lives. Also with kids (or, in this case, a kid) involved, it seems more logical to make their relationship seem more real and stable to an outside eye, too. This is what's best for Nico and Will as a couple and also for all three of them as a family.


	3. Chapter 3

Nico misses his fiancé.

It’s only been three days, but just the thought that Will is going to be at the fucking conference for two more days makes him want to punch walls.

If Nico could have things his way, Will would not have left for the week. And he knows for a fact that Will doesn’t think it’s ideal, either, not this close to the wedding (there’s still so much to do, and there doesn’t seem to be nearly enough time). But the conference (”Update CME – Internal Medicine and Primary Care”, as Will has told him dozens of times) is something Will has really been looking forward to, something he’s really interested in. And Nico isn’t one to stand in his way.

That doesn’t mean he has to be happy about the fact that they will be separated for the longest time since they got together. (He feels kind of stupid, because it’s still only five days, but he doesn’t care.) He has a right to mope around under the covers before ten on a Wednesday night, reading _To Kill A Mockingbird_ and wondering if it would make him look a little too sad if he went to get a glass of wine.

Nico puts his book down when he hears the bedroom door crack open. ”Papà? Can I come there?”

It’s not often that Ciara asks that anymore. When she was little she used to climb to his bed every weekend in the middle of the night, sometimes due to a nightmare and other times just wanting to be close to Nico, maybe even out of habit. But that had stopped a few years back. Nico feels the same kind of warmth he did when she started using the name _papà_  again.

”Sure”, he smiles and holds up the covers for her to slip under. She’s grown a lot, but she’s still tiny when she curls into a ball against his side like a house cat. ”Everything okay?” he asks while putting a pillow under her injured leg.

Ciara is quiet for a little while, during which Nico strokes her hair out of her face. It’s getting longer, Nico muses, and wonders if she would let him cut the ends a little. It’s been a while from that, too.

”I miss Dad.”

It feels like someone is slowly squeezing all the air from Nico’s lungs. ”I know”, he says in a little voice because he can’t make a bigger one, and drops a kiss on top of Ciara’s head. How can it be that the bond between his fiancé and his daughter can still take him by surprise? Not for the first time, he feels old and sappy and a lot what Jason seems like. ”I miss him too.” He checks the clock on Will’s night stand on the other side of the bed. ”Hey, do you want to call him? He should be free now, I think. At least for a short call.”

When they wait for Will to pick up, Ciara sits up on the bed and leans her head on Nico’s shoulder and he drapes his arm around her to pull her closer. It’s such a rare moment of closeness he’s going to make the most of it.

”Hi? Nico?”

Hearing Will’s voice warms Nico’s heart every time, even through the phone from a thousand miles away. ”Hey, you. Hold on, let me put you on speaker. There’s someone else who wants to talk to you, too.”

He stumbles with the phone a little because he hasn’t used the speaker mode in so long, but he finally manages it and holds the phone between Ciara and himself.

”Hi Dad!” Ciara says, and her voice is tired but happy and her smile could cure cancer.

Nico can almost hear the way Will’s eyes soften and his face brightens at the sound of the word _Dad_. ”Hi there, Sunshine.” There’s a little static, and they hear how Will tells someone that he’s going to take the call outside. (”No, everything’s fine. My daughter’s calling.” Nico almost cries.) ”How’s your leg? Have you got any new drawings on the cast?”

”Just one”, she says and describes the yellow and green dragon in great detail. ”But Dad, it itches _all the time_.”

”I know, Ciara, but that means it’s healing.” Nico is pretty sure that’s not what it means, but he knows better than to say it out loud. ”One more week, okay? You’ll be all free of casts and crutches by the time summer break rolls around.”

That seems to make Ciara a little happier, and they talk about their summer plans for a while. Will has managed to talk himself a full month of summer break by stating that ”I’m getting married, I only get married once, I deserve this, right?” and they have planned a small family vacation to the coast after the wedding. (Nico and Will are going there a week earlier for their honeymoon, though, but Ciara doesn’t need to know that just yet.) After only five minutes Ciara’s eyes start fluttering shut and her voice gets softer, and Nico knows it won’t be long before she’s fast asleep.

”Dad, when are you coming home?” she asks with a tiny voice that makes her sound younger than she is, and stifles a yawn into the back of her hand. ”Papà won’t make me pancakes for breakfast.”

Nico rolls his eyes. ”That’s because it’s the middle of the week. Besides, you always complain that Dad’s are better.”

Will laughs so softly it’s hard to hear it through the phone line, but it still sounds wonderful. ”I’ll be back on Friday. It’ll be late, so you’ll hopefully be asleep by the time I’m home, but I promise to make pancakes in the morning, okay?”

”Okay.”

And then Ciara yawns again, dropping her head against the pillows, and Nico smiles at the sight. ”Okay, looks like someone’s more than ready to sleep. Say good night, Ciara.”

”G’night, Dad.”

”Sleep well, Sunshine. I love you.” The smile is evident in Will’s voice, and Ciara hums in response, already half asleep.

Nico takes the phone off speaker and puts it to his ear while tugging the covers to Ciara’s chin. ”Hey”, he says softly, slips out of bed and to the hallway, leaving the bedroom door open just a crack. ”She’s out like a light… How are you? The seminar going okay?”

”Yeah, it is.” Nico can tell that it’s windy in San Francisco by the way his ear is filled with static every now and then. ”Many interesting points, and it’s good to see some of my college friends after so long. But…” The sigh Will gives is enough to let Nico know what is coming, and he almost doesn’t want to hear it. ”I miss you like crazy. A queen size bed has never felt this big before.”

In spite of wanting to curl up under blankets and wait there until Will gets home, Nico makes himself laugh. ”Well aren’t you a real sap”, he teases before adding, ”I miss you too. We both do.”

There’s another blow of wind that makes conversation impossible, and after that Nico can hear Will talking quickly to someone off the phone. ”Hey, listen, we’re going to have an early dinner with some guys from college. I – " 

”Go”, Nico smiles even though Will can’t see it. ”Have fun. Call me in the morning, okay?”

”Okay.” Will’s voice is incredibly soft, and it’s nearly possible to imagine him there right next to Nico instead of out there on the other side of the country. ”I love you, Nico.”

And just like that the smile turns sadder than he’d like, sadder than it ever should upon hearing those words. ”I love you, too.” Friday night can’t come fast enough.

* * *

Nico thinks it’s alarming how well Annabeth gets along with Piper.

He’s never given it a real thought, but now that he looks at the two women sat side by side on the soccer field bleachers, he has to admit that they have a lot of things in common.

Babies being one. And their love for teasing Nico another.

Nico doesn’t know who to thank for the fact that Jason isn’t there, but decides to sent a silent thanks to all the different gods and spirits he can think of. Piper has started an impressive recounting of all the times she and Jason have managed to embarrass Nico in public, and that includes a very detailed narration on his prom night – something Nico would very much like to forget and will probably never be able to. Jason knows more than Piper, probably, but that doesn’t make him scowl any less.

”Don’t listen to them, Fred”, he mutters to the six months old boy in his lap, ignoring the way this only makes Annabeth laugh a little louder. ”Women can’t be trusted. You can lead a perfectly good life without them – take it from someone who knows.” He manages to get his phone out of his pocket to sent a text to Jason.

 _To: jay: [14:12] please note that your wife is publicly torturing me and that if she doesn’t make it home tonight i will in no way be responsible  
_ _To: jay: [14:12] i’m also worried about her teeth rotting off from all that sugar but don’t tell her i said that_

”Come on, Nico. You have to admit it was funny”, Piper tries and licks her pineapple popsicle – her cravings seem to get more and more urgent the closer they get to her due date, which is now only days away. ”The guy was screaming, his face redder than my dress!”

Nico thinks about telling the story from his point of view; how it is a mostly humiliating and absolutely torturing memory of the many ways he has come out to people; how it really wasn’t that funny to be screamed at for making a move on someone; how, despite being sometimes able to laugh at the thing, it still remains one of his most scarring stories of coming out in high school. He doesn’t, because he’s not sure either Piper or Annabeth would understand, and instead rolls his eyes and entertains Fred by showing him pictures of cats from Google.

 _From: jay: [14:14] i think it’s cute how will’s interest in your loved ones’ medical health is rubbing off on you  
_ _To: jay: [14:14] stfu_

Holding a small child like Fred feels better now than it did before. It makes Nico _feel_ things; happy, exciting, _wonderful_ things that have been stirring inside him for months and have only bloomed after his talk with Will two months ago. They haven’t talked to people about it yet, not even Jason or Will’s best friend Cecil, because they want to focus on the wedding first. And then there is the whole situation between Ciara and Will, which is already an ongoing process that will also be done before they will say a word about anything else.

But that hasn’t stopped them from grinning in anticipation in the middle of the night when they talk about things like _adoption_ and _surrogacy_ and _changing the guest bedroom into a nursery_. They’re hushed words, barely said aloud outside the safety of their bedroom, but they’re _real_ , and all of it makes Nico’s head a little dizzy. He’s _so ready_ for this, but he’s also _so not ready fuck someone help me_.

It doesn’t help that Piper and Annabeth have now started comparing their experiences with newborns and sleepless nights and hours of screaming and that horrible moment when you think you have somehow ruined your baby only to realize that no, it’s just an ear infection, and it keeps the whole family up for nights on end.

 _From: jay: [14:15] what does that even mean?  
_ _From: jay: [14:15] did you suddenly turn into a teenager again?  
_ _To: jay: [14:18] you know exactly what it means. i’m stuck with shorthand because there’s no way annabeth would forgive me for using curse words in front of a baby_

Fred starts crying fifteen minutes before the practice ends, and when Nico hands the boy to the blonde woman he suddenly remembers the envelope still in his coat pocket.

”Almost forgot”, he says and gives the invitation to Annabeth. ”Or I guess I _did_ forget, because I’ve been meaning to give this to you for weeks. Sorry about that.” He grins sheepishly when Annabeth opens the envelope with one hand (kind of skillful, actually) and stares at the off white card. ”I know it’s very last minute, but it’d mean a lot if you could be there – ”

”Oh don’t worry, we will”, Annabeth smirks and Nico lets out a relieved sigh. ”But don’t think you’re off the hook just like that. You can’t just invite people to your wedding one week before the ceremony. That’s just plain rude, Nico.”

”I know! I said I was sorry!”

It doesn’t seem like Annabeth is actually really pissed off. Nico is grateful for that. He thinks he can almost see softness in the storm grey eyes when they look at the invitation, but he shakes his head. Yes, he has had his doubts about the depth of his friendship with Annabeth. That doesn’t mean she has, too.

Piper rubs her belly and Nico suspects the baby has given yet another strong kick. Jason has joked that the child will be able to join Will’s soccer team before exiting the womb, and by the pained look on Piper’s face Nico suspects that he’s right. He feels bad for Piper, but at the same time he couldn’t be more excited to have another baby in the social circle he calls family.

* * *

 _From: jay: [14:34] speaking of babies  
__From: jay: [14:34] i call godfather  
__To: jay: [15:56] i have no idea what you’re talking about  
__To: jay: [15:56] going to pick up reyna from the airport in an hour, you wanna come?  
__From: jay: [15:59] you and will are not as subtle as you think you are  
__From: jay: [16:00] it’s a miracle piper hasn’t noticed yet  
__From: jay: [16:00] also you really think i’d miss picking up reyna? text me when you leave_  

* * *

Will has new shoes. Nico knows this, because the shoes are pretty much all Will has been talking about for the past few weeks. Because they’re shiny and new and _oh my god Nico they probably cost more than all the vintage vinyls in your record store combined_. Will has walked around the apartment in the shoes, breaking them in and getting the feel of them and showing off, letting Ciara play with the laces, and Nico has very nearly gone insane.

They look fucking ridiculous.

Nico doesn’t even hear what the minister is saying. All he can think about is Will and the new shoes. He didn’t really _need_ new shoes. Nico himself is wearing a worn out pair of rainbow Converse, for fuck’s sake. Sure, Piper hadn’t been happy with this particular decision (”I know it’s _cute_ , Nico, but they’re barely held together anymore.”) but he hadn’t bulged. Because _seriously_ , Nico thinks as he looks down at Will’s stupid shoes and works really hard not to glare at them, _you don’t need new shoes to get married_.

Right?

Truth is, Nico doesn’t know much about weddings. He’s been to one in his entire life, being the best man in Jason’s, so when it comes to his own big day he’s a mess. He’s hopeless. Only a little over a year ago he didn’t even think he’d ever come this far with anyone, much less with Will Solace the hot soccer coach. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to wear or do or say.

It’s not much, Nico has learned. Mostly he’d just have to stand there and not faint. _I could do that_ , he had thought. But now, looking at Will’s fucking stupid new shoes and trying so very hard to pay attention to the minister, Nico is almost positive he’s having a panic attack.

But like so many times before, it’s like Will can sense exactly how Nico is feeling. Or maybe he can just feel how much Nico’s palm is sweating in his hand. Either way, he gives the hand a little squeeze, and when Nico looks up at his face he smiles. He smiles so bright it almost blinds Nico. _Why does he always have to do that?_ Nico wonders when he can feel his heart rate go up to a speed that can seriously not be healthy anymore.

With Will’s help, Nico is able to say his vows properly when he’s supposed to (he has spent weeks writing those, and he’s truly embarrassed when he realizes how much better Will’s sound), say _yes_ and _I do_ when it’s required, and the rest doesn’t even really matter to him.

Because when the minister finally, _finally_ says ”you may now kiss the groom” and he feels Will’s lips on his, Nico doesn’t care about the public setting or the many people who are all watching and taking pictures. He doesn’t even care about the loud wolf whistle (he suspects it’s either Jason or Cecil, could be both, but he knows Reyna will take care of it), because he’s feeling fireworks and volcanoes in his stomach and a tickling fire everywhere else, and Will is now _his_ , officially, and he’s _Will’s_.

When they break the kiss just to press their foreheads together and grin goofily like the two idiots they are, Nico can see that Will is crying. _Of course_. Nico almost rolls his eyes.

”Stop crying”, he whispers. ”You’re gonna make Piper cry.”

”She’s been crying since we walked in.” Will’s lips find his again. Nico doesn’t care about the camera flash that goes off – this is their moment, and he’s actually kind of glad that Will insisted on a professional photographer. ”I love you, husband.”

Nico’s heart skips a beat. Or a dozen. ”I love you too, husband.” The word feels funny in his mouth. It’s going to take some time getting used to. Will can’t stop smiling and Nico wipes a tear from his cheek with his thumb. ”You’re a huge dork, you know that?”

”Yet you still married me.”

Nico wants to tell Will that he can stop flirting now, they’re already married. He doesn’t. Instead he just smiles smugly and laces their fingers together. ”I know.” Then he turns to look at the people they have already neglected for too long.

Piper is crying with one hand on her mouth and another on her huge belly. Jason’s eyes are wet too, though Nico isn’t that surprised. There’s an empty spot where Will’s mother is supposed to be, but they’d expected as much, so Nico’s eyes don’t linger. Will’s side is fuller than his, he notices; but then again, he only wanted to invite the Graces and Jacksons and Reyna. He doesn’t have any family left to invite, so Will made it a job to invite all of his so there would be at least _some_ family at the wedding.

Nico doesn’t care. He thought he would, but he actually doesn’t care who is there to witness. The important thing is that there was a wedding, and that he married Will. And he did.

One of Will’s cousins starts playing the cello, like she had when they first walked in. It’s a slow version of some pop song he’s heard on the radio many times. It’s one of Will’s favorites, and Nico sort of gets why, even if it’s not the kind of music he usually listens to. When they walk out of the hall to the one next door where the reception is to be held, Nico sees the way Ciara looks at the cellist and wonders if they’re going to have a talk about her piano lessons.

Will doesn’t let go of his hand for a second while people come and congratulate them, one after another. At first it’s hard to hug people with only one arm available (and uncomfortable to hug people he doesn’t even know), but Nico doesn’t even think about letting go of Will. Not now and not ever. When he thinks about it, he realizes that, in a way, he never has to. It makes the grin on his face that much wider and happier.

”I’ve seriously been waiting for this day for forever”, Jason says as he hugs Nico a little too tight, and Nico wants to roll his eyes. ”Like, I don’t know. Since that day we got drunk behind the bleachers at the end of senior year. Remember that? You said you’d never get married and I told you that a romantic sap like you is bound to get themselves married before they turn thirty.”

Nico smiles and pushes his best friend off him. ”Fuck off, Jason.”

”Hey!” Will tugs on his hand and he turns to look at the blond. ”I thought that we agreed on no unattractive words on our wedding day.”

Will is right, of course. But for a brief moment the evening light form the tall glass windows makes Will’s freckles stand out and eyes shine like the summer sea, and Nico wonders how any word can even sound unattractive on that day.

* * *

Nico isn’t sure if it’s because they’re married now, or because of those stupid shoes, or because it’s been over a week since the last time they had sex, but he needs to be alone with Will _right now_.

It’s late already, but then again, the whole reception only started after seven. Most of Will’s extended family has already left, and Piper and Annabeth have taken the children to sleep half an hour ago. A random, overly cheesy slow song is playing from the speakers, and the low lights in the ball room make Will’s hair look almost strawberry blond. They’re swaying to the music (or rather, Will is; Nico just follows his lead, like he always does), holding each other tight, and Nico can hear Will’s heart beat where his head is resting against the other man’s chest. People around them are enjoying the cake and looking at them, and Nico is sure Cecil is taking pictures.

Nico wants everyone else to disappear.

”Do you think it would be too early to leave without being rude?” he mutters and tries to trace his fingers across the side of Will’s neck without anyone else seeing. There are _some_ things he doesn’t want to end up in the pictures. ”I mean, we already had cake, and Jason is _hopefully_ done with the speeches. It’s not like anything’s going to happen anymore, right?”

Will laughs, and his hand goes up and down Nico’s back in a way that could be seen as soothing but that Nico knows is so much more. When he speaks his lips tickle Nico’s hair line. ”You do realize we’re talking about leaving early _from our own wedding_?”

”Don’t act like you don’t want to.”

”I wasn’t saying that.” Nico moves his fingers from Will’s neck to the back of his head. He feels Will shiver when he runs his fingers through the golden locks that are a little sticky from hair wax. Will lets out a soft sigh that does things to Nico. ”Someone’s eager.”

”Hmm.” Nico makes a point of pressing their bodies tighter together, wanting to feel every inch of Will. ”And who’s fault is that, Mr. Solace-di Angelo?”

It’s the name they have decided on together that makes Will take Nico’s face in both if his hands and look at him like he’s the only person in the room; the only person on this god damned planet. Will says something that Nico can’t quite hear, and just because the kiss is soft doesn’t mean it’s any less passionate, or demanding, or urgent. Nico feels his skin burning where it touches Will’s.

They barely make it to their hotel room. They annoy the shit out of Jason, who makes sure Nico knows how pissed off Piper will be when she comes back to the party and sees them gone. They make the ride to the hotel extremely uncomfortable for the poor man driving, and Will makes sure to tip him well while Nico’s hand draws distracting circles to Will’s lower back under the wrinkled dress shirt. They get disapproving looks from an older lady when she walks in on them in the elevator on their way to the top floor and erupt into breathless giggles when she exits three floors later.

When they finally make it to their suite, Nico doesn’t wait for the door to properly close behind them before he’s tugging Will down by his collars to kiss him like he has wanted to all night.

”You’re wearing too much clothes”, is the first thing Nico is able to say past the lips and teeth and tongue working against Will’s. Will laughs, but the sound turns into a whimper when Nico’s fingers travel under his shirt to play with his nipples.

”And they say romance is dead”, Will still manages to tease, but does help Nico with the shirt, hands flying to the shorter man’s belt before the piece of clothing hits the ground. ”You sure know how to make a man swoon, Nico.”

”I don’t need to make you _swoon_.” Nico looks up at Will’s face when he starts pulling him to the bed. His grin softens into a happy smile when he looks at the blue eyes that are _so bright_ and _so full of love_ it makes his heart jump to his throat. ”We’re already married.”

And it’s such a simple phrase, yet it makes time stop around them. Will lets out a breath as he looks at Nico, and Nico hears his heart beat like a drum, strong and steady and fast. It’s been hours now, but the reality hasn’t quite sunk in just yet. _Married_. It’s a very different word from _engaged_ , even more different from _being together_. As they stand there, in the middle of the bedroom in the ridiculous hotel suite neither of them knows how they ended up getting, clothes half off and lips bruised from kissing, Nico realizes fully for the first time that he’s actually _married_ now.

”Hey”, Will says so quietly Nico wouldn’t be able to hear it if the room wasn’t so perfectly still. It sounds like a hello, like a new kind of greeting. Like Will is seeing Nico for the first time instead of having been together for over a year now.

Nico’s breath catches in his throat when he tries to speak, and he has to settle on whispering. ”Hi.” He lifts his hand up to Will’s face, cupping one cheek the way Will did that day outside a coffee shop what seems like ages ago, and his lips curl into a smile when Will turns his head to press a kiss to his palm. ”You look good for such an old married guy.”

”Oh shut up and take that shirt off already.”

Nico complies, taking off not only his shirt but Will’s pants too before kicking off his shoes and falling on the bed, dragging Will down with him. A part of him wants to rip the rest of their clothes off without caring about the outcome, wants to fuck Will into the mattress until they both forget their names and all that’s left is skin against skin and a choir of strangled noises. But a bigger, louder, more collected part keeps his movements slow and languid, soft and caring and loving while his lips worship the other man’s body and mark every part of Will his territory.

In a way, Nico thinks, he _is_ seeing Will for the first time now. It’s not that he hasn’t learned every inch of Will’s skin and memorized the taste already (oh, he has). It’s not that he doesn’t know Will well enough to know what the man is thinking right this second (he wishes to have the element of surprise for years to come, though). But there are two golden bands in Will’s ring finger now. Two instead of one. And maybe it’s the champagne he’s been drinking all night or the city lights filtering through the thin curtains, but somehow Will looks like he’s glowing.

Will looks different, yet he’s still exactly the same. It’s a paradox in Nico’s mind, one he doesn’t understand and isn’t even trying to make sense of right now. As he caresses the soft edges of Will’s hip bones and feels a pair of extremely skilled lips against his pulse point and clavicle and sternum he thinks about how people say that marriage changes things. Changes _you_.

It doesn’t make sense. To Nico, everything is so wonderfully similar to how it was a week ago, a month ago, three months ago. Nico climbs on top of Will and adds pressure to their hips while dominating Will’s lips with his own. His hand travels down, past Will’s briefs and around the shaft, gives it a little squeeze just the way Will likes it.

”Oh, _fuck_ , Nico.”

”Hey, no unattractive words on our wedding day.”

No, Nico decides moments later as he watches Will come undone in his hands. He’s perfectly happy with how things are. Because they are different, yet so much the same – it’s impossible to see the edges and curves when you’re drunk on love and champagne and Will.

* * *

On his first morning as a married man Nico wakes up to seven texts and a missed call from Jason. He really doesn’t want to look at the texts yet, not with Will’s face pressed against his chest and their legs a cozy mess under the expensive sheets and the welcome soreness all over his body. But Will’s still asleep, his even breathing tickling Nico’s skin in all the right ways, and Nico’s _awake_. There’s no harm in checking, right? Besides, Jason wouldn’t have tried to call if it wasn’t important.

 _From: pipes: [23:07] Nico di Angelo I can’t believe you did this to me. I will strangle you.  
_ _From: pipes: [23:09] No I won’t. But seriously, who leaves early from their own wedding???  
_ _From: jay: [02:21] NICO IT’S TIME  
_ _From: jay: [02:21] on our way to the hospital, reyna’s with tom and ciara  
_ _From: jay: [07:43] at half past seven this morning you two dumbasses have been given a very healthy niece. pictures to follow  
_ _From: jay: [07:44] i’m sorry if my call woke you up or disturbed or something  
_ _From: jay: [07:44] NICO I HAVE A DAUGHTER i will call you later today when i stop crying_

Nico is gently shaking Will awake even before he’s finished reading the last three messages. He doesn’t care about morning breath when he connects their lips in a slow kiss and Will leans up on the bed to hover over him. He smiles dumbly when Will mutters a sleepy _good morning, husband_ against his shoulder and laughs softly when the sloppy kisses travel across his chest. He lets out a content sigh and closes his eyes in delight when Will slowly rocks into him, and comes silently only seconds after Will. It’s all a haze, it’s slow and sweet and warm and almost feels like a dream, except that the low burn in his thighs and ass tell him that it isn’t.

It’s not a dream, and Nico feels complete and balanced and happy and in love.

”Hey”, he says while nuzzling their noses together, and Will’s hair looks like a halo when morning light hits it. ”I love you.” He’s a little overwhelmed and lets the few small tears fall from the corner of his eye and into the pillow.

Will hums and stills his lips to the corner of Nico’s mouth for just long enough to leave the skin tingly. ”Quite right, too.”

They doze off not a minute after. Nico wakes up again to Will’s lips pressing repeatedly all over his face, leaving small kisses everywhere and making Nico very aware of every body part that is touching Will.

”Have you checked your phone yet?” he asks Will between their kisses that have turned more passionate but not beyond.

”No. Why?”

Nico grins and waits for Will to look up. Their eyes meet properly for the first time that day, and the only word that comes to Nico’s mind as he tries to explain his feelings to himself is _good_. Fucking good. ”Jason and Piper had a baby girl this morning.”

Will grins too. ”I can’t wait to meet her.” Nico knows that Will absolutely loves kids, that the man has already been the best dad Nico could ever want for Ciara and a wonderful uncle for Tom. When Will buries his face to Nico’s neck to leave a trail of kisses and licks and nibs there, Nico thinks he can’t wait to see his husband holding the new baby.

”Me either.”

”You know, we’re going to have our own soon.”

It’s not a question anymore, they can both feel it. In the pit of his stomach and in the back of his mind and in the way his hand holds Will’s so tightly the wedding bands bore into his skin, Nico can feel it. This is their life, it’s already happening, and they will have it all. Soon. It doesn’t feel so scary anymore; it’s still hard to grasp and slightly unnerving, but in all the right ways.

”I know.”

* * *

When Nico first holds the small bundle that is Bea Marie Grace, he doesn’t cry. He wants to, and he knows every adult in the room knows that, but he doesn’t let the tears fall.

Bea is beautiful. It’s hard to tell yet, but Nico can swear she has Jason’s chin and Piper’s cheek bones, which practically makes her a perfect combination of the two. The small tuft of hair on top of her head is dark blond, and even though her eyes are blue like any new born baby’s, Nico can tell they’re going to be multicolor like Piper’s. He can’t wait.

They sit on the couch, Nico and Ciara and Will and Bea, and Jason takes too many pictures. Will is holding the baby now, and his face is shining, and Nico can feel the anticipation emitting from him.

Piper asks them to be Bea’s godparents.

Nico cries.

* * *

Will’s heart is breaking a little. Nico can tell.

The coach is keeping it well to himself, though. Nico is pretty sure Ciara can’t see it, but then again, Ciara doesn’t know Will the way Nico does. If she did, maybe she’d stay in the soccer team for at least one more season.

”Why would you want to quit soccer?” Nico asks his ( _their_ ) daughter, trying his very best to not sound like one of those parents that want their kids to do this particular sport no matter what. It’s never been like that with Ciara – soccer only became a thing because Ciara herself wanted to try it out. ”You’re so good at it.”

Ciara struggles with her words, and Nico feels bad for questioning her. Still, quitting soccer has come so out of the blue that he needs to understand before letting the matter go.

”I do _like_ it, Papà. It’s just…” she glances quickly at Will, like she’s scared of letting them down. ”I don’t want to break my bones again. And – and not just that. I… I want to focus on music.”

Nico can agree with the bones. When Ciara broke her leg Nico was panicking. He can’t remember the last time he was that scared. (He knows that it’s kind of stupid; bones break, it’s a part of life.) So if Ciara wants to quit soccer in hopes of not to break any more bones, Nico can happily let her. But music? ”I thought you didn’t like the piano that much.”

Okay, she’s definitely fidgeting now. He also thinks she’s avoiding looking at them in the eyes. ”I don’t. I…” She takes a deep breath, and Nico waits patiently as she closes her eyes and makes it look like she’s facing an executor instead of her parents. ”I want to learn how to play the cello.”

Well. That shouldn’t be this surprising.

”The cello?” Nico thinks he can hear it in Will’s voice that he’s even more baffled than Nico is. ”Where did this come from?”

Nico smiles a little before Ciara can answer. ”The wedding”, he says, and when Ciara looks at him he knows he’s made the right assumption. ”You heard Kayla play the cello at the wedding and fell in love. I don’t think I can really blame you.”

He should have seen this coming, Nico thinks. He had noticed the look Ciara had given the cellist. She has never really seemed like piano is her instrument, even if she does have the passion for it. Besides, Ciara is almost nine years old. She’s also a di Angelo, more specifically Bianca di Angelo’s daughter. Nico should have figured she would eventually find something a little more challenging and less mundane than a piano. It helps that cello is Nico’s favorite.

”I’m still going to finish this season!” Ciara says quickly, turning to look at Will. _She’s scared_ , Nico realizes, and now it’s his heart that is breaking. _She’s scared he’ll get mad_. ”I won’t let the team down, I’ll give one hundred per cent. I just, I don’t want to keep playing after that.”

Will has apparently come to the same conclusion as Nico. His face is soft, and he keeps his emotions in check (Nico knows how much the soccer team means to Will, and appreciates the effort) when he reaches out to pull Ciara in a hug.

”Sunshine, you don’t need to worry about the team. I didn’t expect you to want to play soccer for the rest of your life.” Nico sees Ciara’s shoulders relax a little and hears her sigh, like she has been holding her breath. Will’s hand softly pets the tangled hair that Nico should have braided the night before. ”I want you to do something that makes you happy, and I can’t force soccer to be that to you.”

Nico meets Will’s eyes over Ciara’s shoulder and smiles. Will has always been better with words than he is; he knows it’s going to be easier for Will to make their point to Ciara that it would be for Nico.

”If music is what makes you happy, then okay, we’ll let you play music”, Will continues, and its like he’s reading Nico’s mind. Nico looks as Will pulls away from Ciara’s embrace to look at her, placing his hands on her cheeks gently and smiling that soft smile that makes Nico’s heart forget the rhythm. ”And if it’s cello that you want to play, then so be it. We can work with that. Ciara, you don’t ever have to be afraid to tell us what you want, okay?”

When Ciara nods and leans in for another hug, Nico thinks about buying a camera. He really needs to document these moments somehow. Instead he smiles, listens to the sound of waves from the cabin window, smells the salty ocean air and watches the two most precious people in his life hold each other. His heart is about to burst.

”I love you, Dad”, Ciara says, her voice mumbled by Will’s shoulder, but Nico hears it.

So does Will, who presses his lips gently to Ciara’s hair and who’s voice sounds tight when he replies. ”I love you too, Sunshine.” They break the hug, and Nico sees Will grin while trying furiously stop his tears from forming (Nico has seen that face so many times he knows exactly what’s going on in that beautiful head). ”And so does Papà, even though I think he’s feeling a little neglected right now.”

”Oh don’t mind me”, Nico says and waves his hand, sighing over dramatically. He wonders if there’s a limit to things you are allowed to learn from your husband. ”I’ll just… go… and maybe drown in my own tears of betrayal. Please buy yellow lilies on my grave. Ciara, you better play the cello in my funeral.”

* * *

It turns out that finding a surrogate is a bit of a longer process than either Nico or Will thought.

Sure, Nico had known that having a child would be a lot harder to them than it was for Jason and Piper or for Annabeth and her husband (who Nico had briefly met at the wedding and wasn’t yet entirely sure what to think of). He had expected the looks they got from officials and the conversations that followed, the underlying tone that not everyone agrees with their right for a family of their own.

What he hadn’t expected was the lack of surrogates in their area willing to work with them. And that has made Nico angry, making him question the whole system.

Will tries to hide it, but Nico knows it affects him too. It’s been five months since the wedding, five months since they really started the process, and so far it has been only closed doors and apologetic smiles and women who look down on them. Nico knows that five months is basically nothing, five months is a blink of an eye and it’d be a miracle if they had accomplished something by now. But it’s not the time frame it’s the attitude, and Nico is so fucking sick of it he feels like throwing up every time they get a rejection somewhere.

It helps a little, Nico thinks, that Reyna stayed in town after the wedding. He could talk to Jason, of course, but no matter what… Jason wouldn’t understand, not fully. Jason has a wife and two beautiful children, his own flesh and blood, half him and half Piper. That’s something Nico and Will will never have, and it sometimes hurts Nico when he looks at them.

But Reyna gets it. In a way, at least. Reyna is in the same boat with them. It feels good to have someone to talk to, without having to worry if he sounds too bitter or jealous.

”It’s fucking unfair, that’s what it is”, Reyna says one day while giving the records on the shelf a frustrated shove. Nico has hired her as a temp in the store, just until she finds a job to match her college degree or decides if she wants to return to Mexico. Nico hopes she’d stay, but doesn’t say anything. ”Those women claim they want to help out people who aren’t able to get kids, right? That’s what the whole surrogacy thing is about. But when you come asking for their help they back off. What the fuck is that about?”

Nico hums behind the counter. Reyna has had this rant three times over the past week. Sometimes it’s very relaxing to not be the angriest person in the room. He taps on a few more orders on the too old computer before taking a sip of his coffee and checking the time. A little over an hour before Ciara gets from school. Reyna has promised to help her with her homework while Nico does inventory.

”I mean, who in this country needs their help more than you two do?” Reyna continues, raising her voice as she skips through the aisles so that Nico can hear her over the soft lull of the radio. ”If _I_ wanted a kid, it’d be so easy it’s fucking ridiculous. Why isn’t it the same for you? Seriously, it seems like if you want shit done properly you need to do it yourself.”

”I know, right?” Nico says, barely even listening anymore. It’s a quiet day – no one seems to go to record stores anymore. They’ve had five customers that day, all before lunch, all after the new pop album that hit the stores last week. Nico wants to call it a day and close the store early. Or maybe run to the back room to hurl over a toilet seat. Possibly both. Hitting his head repeatedly against the counter also sounds strangely appealing.

Nico is so deep in his own thoughts (of basically nothing) that he doesn’t hear Reyna’s gasp. He doesn’t hear her fast walking to the counter, and doesn’t even notice she’s standing in front of him before she slams her palm against the table.

”That’s it!”

Nico frows. Did he miss something? ”That’s… what, exactly?”

”If you want shit done you do it yourself”, Reyna repeats, and there’s a gleam in her eyes Nico isn’t sure he likes yet. ”Nico, I’ll do it. I’ll get you that baby. I can be your surrogate.”

Nico isn’t sure he’s hearing her correctly. ”You – _you’ll_ be our surrogate?” When Reyna nods, Nico almost drops his coffee mug. He takes a deep breath to calm himself enough to place the mug slowly on the counter. ”Reyna, I can’t ask you to do that.”

”You’re not asking. I’m offering. There’s a difference.”

They’re silent for a long moment, and Reyna holds Nico’s gaze captive. Nico can hear his heart drumming in his ears.

He’s known Reyna for a long time. She was his first friend, back when he was six and they had just moved to the States from Italy. They were the only kids in class who didn’t speak perfect English, and that made them bond incredibly fast. They were a weird sight – a latina girl and an Italian boy, barely speaking the same language but somehow understanding each other perfectly. Nico remembers how by junior high rumors started going around that the two were dating. That was right before Reyna got her first official girlfriend and Nico came out as gay to his friends.

Reyna had moved to San Francisco before senior year of high school, leaving Nico with Jason and Piper and Leo and a propmise to keep in touch. They did – first daily, then weekly, then a Skype call once a month and a card from whatever part of the world Reyna was then exploring. Once she had settled in Mexico five years ago it had become easier to keep in touch. Nico was so glad that their friendship hadn’t been damaged by time and space and language barriers and literal borders between them.

Nico has known Reyna for a long time. During that time he has learned three things that are constant. One; when Reyna is drunk or just really tired, she starts speaking Spanish so fast there’s no point in even trying to understand. (Unless you’re Leo Valdez; in which case you understand but keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.) Two; if you value your life, you will never in a million years go between Reyna and her goals.

And three; when Reyna has that look on her face, she has set a said goal. And there’s no stopping her.

A part of Nico wants to cry. (He realizes he’s been doing that a lot more since Will came to his life; he doesn’t think it’s really a bad thing.) But mostly he just wants to _calm the fuck down_ , because there’s _no way_ things could turn out this great this fast.

”I, uh”, Nico clears his throat. Why the fuck is he so emotional? Will is supposed to be the emotional one. ”I’ll have to talk to Will.”

”Of course”, Reyna nods. ”Of course you will. Just… I can do this for you, Nico. Both of you. And you said you were going to use an egg donor anyway, so the kid won’t be mine anyway if that’s what you’re worried about.”

”Yeah, I know. And I wasn’t worried.”

”Good.” She looks at Nico strangely then, like she’s trying to read his mind. Nico knows that look – Jason uses it on him all the time. ”I want to be very clear with you, Nico. I’m not okay with the way the system is treating you. I want you to have the same rights for a family as any straight couple out there, and I’m doing whatever it takes to get you that. I’m aware that by becoming a surrogate I will literally give up my own body for a whole year. I’m doing it willingly. Is that understood?”

Nico isn’t used to people wanting to put everything aside to help him. With Jason, he accepts it with growls and kicks under the table and a red face. With Will it’s about understanding, their mutual need to get out of their ways to make the other happy. What Reyna is offering, what she is willing to do for him and Will… it feels a little too much.

”Yeah”, Nico says so quietly he briefly wonders if Reyna can hear him over the music. ”Yeah, I understand. I – thank you, Reyna.”

He doesn’t have to say what he’s thanking her for. He knows she understands.

The rest of the day is a blur, and that night, once Ciara is asleep, Nico grabs Will and holds him so impossibly close it soon gets hard to breathe. Neither of them move, though; Nico won’t loosen his hold on his husband, and he knows Will can sense his need to just be like this for a moment. They’ve had moments like this quite often lately, yet it has always been Will who has done the crying. But Nico is so fucking _thankful_ for so many things that night that he doesn’t care that his tears and snot ruin the pressed collar of Will’s shirt.

They sit and talk until the morning hours. They talk and they smile and they cry, and they do research and they go through all the stacks of paper they have collected over the months. They try to find every little piece of information they can that could possibly have to do with this, trying to see if there’s any way this could actually work in their favor.

Nico falls asleep on the couch, resting his head on the backrest in a weird angle, papers spread all over them and the cold light of the laptop illuminating his face. He wakes up a few hours later, tucked under the covers in their bed, with Will smiling happily at him, softly stroking his hair and cheek and neck and just _smiling_.

They call Reyna as soon as they think it’s civil.

* * *

It’s still a slow process, but then one day it’s actually happening. It’s happening and so, _so_ real. Nico feels like he’s been smiling for weeks, and tries to tone it down when they walk out of the hospital.

They had agreed with Reyna that they’d keep it down for now. Nico had wanted to make sure everything was in order, that every piece of paper was accounted for and that there was nothing stopping them anymore. Will had insisted on waiting through the first few weeks, just to be certain that there are no complications and the fetus is developing accordingly. Reyna had first stated she’d prefer if they waited on telling people until she started throwing up every five minutes, but had since then said that she doesn’t actually care when they tell people.

”It’s your baby, after all”, she had said on their walk in the hospital doors that morning, ”I’m just the lucky lady who has the privilege to carry it for you.”

She has made it a point to keep telling Nico and Will that being their surrogate is a privilege, and an honor. It has left Nico slightly baffled, but it feels good too, after so many rejections and cold looks and _sorry, no can do_ ’s.

What also feels good is the way she says _your baby_. Because it is – the baby will have genes from Will and an unknown donor, but also Nico’s surname, and it’s _their baby_ and Nico feels like he’s going to burst. He holds Will’s hand maybe a little too tight during the first ultra sound, but Will squeezes back just as hard so it’s okay. Reyna cries a little and tries to hide it before blaming the hormones, but Will doesn’t do anything to wipe away his happy tears as they listen to the strong heartbeat that echoes in the room. Nico presses a kiss to their joined fingers and smiles so wide it hurts.

”I didn’t know it’s possible to love someone who isn’t even born yet”, Will tells him quietly in the subway, his arms around Nico and the pole and face buried in Nico’s hair. ”I always thought it was kind of silly, but… I just love that child so much already.”

Nico leans back on Will’s chest and waits as the train stops and people rush past them. He has known for years how possible it is, loving an unborn child. He remembers laying on the living room floor with Bianca and reading stupid kids books to her belly. He remembers the way she would hum old Italian nursery rhymes and trace her fingers across her round stomach before falling asleep. Nico remembers that night two days before Bianca died, how he had sat down next to her hospital bed and told unborn Ciara that he’s going to take care of her, whatever happens.

It’s different this time, he thinks as the doors close and the train leaves the station again. This time the whole thing is planned and plotted. This time there is no question about the father, no question whether the baby is going to see the light of day or not. This time Nico is ready, he knows what it is to be a parent, and he’s not alone the way he was last time.

This time, Nico prays, no one is going to die.

”I know”, he mutters and smiles up at Will, squeezes his hand in his coat pocket. ”Me too.”

They sit down with Ciara a few hours later and show her the blurry black and white picture. She narrows her eyes, like she’s trying to understand what she’s seeing. But she’s nine years old. Nico is pretty sure she already knows what she’s looking at.

”Do you know what this is?” he asks anyway, feeling the way Will’s muscles flex beside him on the couch as his husband tries to hold back his excitement. Nico really wants to roll his eyes, but they have more important matters on hand.

Ciara looks at the picture, then at her dads, then back at the picture. She’s smart. Nico knows that. She’s trying to put the pieces together. ”It’s a baby, right?” The tone in her voice tells Nico she still doesn’t quite get it. It’s understandable, maybe.

”Yes, it’s a baby.”

”Is Aunt Piper pregnant again?”

Nico grimaces. ”No, thank god. No one would be able to handle Jason if they had another one so soon after Bea.” He takes a deep breath. ”Piper’s not pregnant. Reyna is.”

Now Ciara looks really surprised. ” _Aunt Reyna_ is having a baby?”

Will chuckles. ”You see, this is where it gets tricky”, he says, and Nico wants to laugh too. _Tricky_ might be the understatement of the century when talking about the things they have been through to get this far. ”Reyna’s going to deliver a baby, but it’s going to be your little brother or sister who is born. Our baby”, he adds, looking at Nico quickly and taking his hand. Nico can’t help the sugary smile that spreads on his lips.

Ciara blinks a few times as the words register to her. Nico quietly watches as the wheels turn behind her intelligent eyes. ”So, Aunt Reyna is going to have a baby and you’re going to adopt it? Like Dad adopted me?”

”Not exactly”, Nico admits, and when Ciara looks confused and frustrated he holds a hand as an invitation for her to climb to his lap, the way she used to all the time when she was smaller. ”It’s a long and difficult story that we will tell you later when you’re a little older. You’ll understand then. But the important thing is, Ciara, that you’re going to have a little brother or sister.” He smiles at her hopefully, praying that he’s doing this right. ”How do you feel about that?”

Ciara is nine years old, so she smiles easily at the thought and leans her head on Nico’s shoulder while draping her legs on Will’s lap. ”I hope it’s a girl. Then I can braid her hair and finally show Dad how it’s actually done.”

That night Nico sits on the couch with his family for hours. His little family that he loves more than is physically possible. The little family that is too loud, wants to watch cartoons in a blanket fort and eat ice cream for dinner. The little family that spends their time learning how to braid and trying to practice soccer feint without Nico seeing.

His little family that will soon be not so little anymore. And that’s more than okay.

* * *

 _To: jay: [20:37] speaking of babies  
_ _To: jay: [20:39] you still call godfather?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I have no idea how adoption or surrogacy works - in the US or anywhere, really. So I tried to be as vague as possible. Don't hate.
> 
> Second of all, there will be more to the story. It's going to be a Will's POV of all this, so keep looking for that. I'm ridiculously happy with this AU, so there will probably be small stories even after that, but I'm not really promising anything.


End file.
